First Night in a Refugees Camp

The night is heavy and hot although from time to time some fresh air comes. Curfew is on and movements must be made cautiously although the laughs of children can be heard and passing by the little shops there is animation punctuated by laughs. It could be a beautiful summer night made out
of chatting in the terraces, visiting and resting from the hot day but the curfew impregnates all and sudden alarms jump: "a jeep, a jeep..." although quickly those are aborted.
A casual invitation "for a tea" from some neighbours becames quickly in an improvised party: the promised tea makes its entrance but accompanied to some delicious little rolls filled in with rice and followed by a coffe. In the terrace the air is warm; experiences from last night, which was a blank one, are revived. The destruction by explosion of two of the houses of the camp kept awake everybody. One of the destroyed houses is sited in a little hill in front of us but the explosion was so strong that made explode one of the glasses from the place where we are hosted and fly
sizeable pieces of brick to this area.The kids show us rubber balls which soldiers shoot to them, carcases from tear bombs of diferent sizes and forms, the holes in the windows made by gunshuts in one of the windows, a piece of debris of a considerable size rest from the night's before explosion... this is told between laughs interrupting one to another and adding new details. They show proudly some photos someone has made of them and complete again details from the night before whe they were all lying on the terrace's floor feeling the strong explosion...
Explaination is mainly in arabic. The two friends who spent the night with them don't speak it and their english y rudimentary and scarce but it does not matter at all, there is an universal language which traspases those frontiers and borders, the shared experiences make all of it perfectly intellegible for them.
From there I see some of the guests leave the building very burdened with their whole bagagge...I ask myself about their possible destination at this time of night in the middle of curfew but i think that they are prepared to spend the night in some family's house although I don't understand the need for all their lugagge.
Suddenly a couple of the people from the center rush in and tell us that ISM has received notice from the USA Embassy that tonight all intermnational activists present in the camp are going to be "removed". The most part of those sleeping in the center have decided to go an sleep at some
familie's. After closing quickly the (oh fortune) still unmade lugagge I think is better to stay here. I think is more safe and I don't want to compromise with my presence any family. Rumopurs are heard as well that three other houses are to be demolished by explosions tonight and that's the reason for having the scenary clean from visitors. They even point out the locatiuon of the houses,
one of them is very close from the place we are in.
In the center are about 15 people now. The smallest noise or vibration on the road is an alarm cause. Phones ring... each call is an incognita..
In the sitting room a group is watching a video from the Basilic of Nativity asedium in april, other is playing cards..I ju,p to the PCs room whre lines are so slow that from time to time I ask my neighbourgs wether they have line at all.
Hours pass between small talk, some laughs and a lot of nervous tension. At three the small group I'm with gives a near end to the alrm between laughs and jokes..." their hour has always been between 2 and 3, today nothing will happen..." conversations follow and when bed was a close reality an strong explosion followed by 2/3 shotguns: alarm. Everybody looking instintively a safe place.

Windows are high and covered with different barriers but for certain sorts of projectils this would be nothing.
Running to the windows in the upper floors, phone calls, nervous faces.. after a while someone dares to peer from the door. Nothinfg the road is empty.
More telephone calls, a little expedition and everyting is clear: a tank has dispared against a subterranean water conduction and afterwards soldiers have made some gunshots at air. An step forward the progressive destruction of the poor infraestructurwes of camp and a good shock.
An small tank appears in the street causing alarm. I herad calling it something similar to "blitz" but it's just a patrol which doesn't stop.
At 5'30 we start retiring. Sleep in the camp is neves much but last night was very bad because of the explosions and nobody had slept.
But the sleep is not deep, a megaphonie can be heard at lenght and coks start to sing. Call to pray and the sky starts to get tinted of a white, milky light, phantomly moonly.
The sun is rising and thinking in the alarm created last night i wake up to confirm that everyting is ok.
My first night in the camp has passed.