The Travels of Secret Agent Man

After a couple weeks of silence, I heard from Secret Agent Man. I knew the silence was due to his travels in and out of precarious places- this time, in and out of Jerusalem. Though he was born in Jerusalem, Secret Agent Man does not have the right papers and permits to travel freely in and out of his birth town. He whispered about sneaking around from town to town throughout Palestine, all undercover in true Secret Agent nature.

When I spoke to him previously, it was a few days after he had entered Jerusalem. It took him three days of trying before he got in. He told me how dangerous it was and how his mother had collapsed crying she was so worried about him. He stayed in the Old City above a market in a house bearing a sign that declared it was built in 1079. He contemplated that this may be the last time he will ever see the city. The apartheid wall is ninety-percent done now and once it’s complete there will be no way for him to enter the city of his birth.

Today, Secret Agent Man told me that he had seen more of Palestine than he had ever seen before in his life, and places that his family who lives there never ventured to find. Because he didn’t have the right papers to be there, his family took huge risks just by walking next to him in certain parts of the country. His family all thought that he was crazy, reckless to travel like this. They’re right- just today at the Hebron gate – he was there a week ago – Israeli soldiers open-fired on a group of Palestinians, killing 2 people.

He spoke of the beauty of the northern part of the country. He was excited, elated. He said there was so much to remember; he didn’t know how he would. I told him I’d help him write it down. And here we are.