83. Ramallah, 2001 - Changing of the guard

In which Nagla, Wissam and Tariq throw a party.

Eleanor makes a statement in her choice of dress. Will it be appreciated?

Nagla, Wissam, Tariq

Nagla, Wissam and Tariq stand to one side, surveying the scene. In the midst of ongoing closures and tremendous difficulties in traveling, four hundred people have come to the Freedom Day farewell reception they have organized for Eleanor. She had expected something small, a few dozen people at most. Watching her face as more and more people arrived had been reward enough for all the work they put into organizing this.

“I’m going to miss her,” Nagla says to them quietly in Arabic. “She wasn’t always easy to work for, but she was always fair.”

“I learned a lot from her,” Tariq nods in agreement. “I was terrified of her at the beginning. She was so intimidating and demanding. I felt like I could do nothing right. But I’ve come to see it’s because she genuinely cares about the work we do. She only asked of others what she asked of herself.”

“It’s all going to be different now,” Wissam says with sadness. “Mr Francois, Mr Jacob, Ms Eleanor—all the people who established the mission have gone. It’s only us who remain. All the new people from South Africa, they’re great. But it’s not the same. We don’t feel like a family anymore. We’ve gotten so much bigger.”

“Yes, it’s definitely changed,” Nagla agrees. “It will be good when we move to the new building, though. We’re bursting at the seams in the office. We barely all fit.”

“I’m surprised to see her in traditional Palestinian dress for this,” Tariq says with some wonder. “That’s a brave thing to do. Where did she even get one from?”

“Hanan Ashrawi gave it to her,” Nagla replies.

Tariq gives a low whistle of appreciation. “Wow. That says a lot.”

“It does,” Wissam says. “And that she’s wearing it now.”

“She asked me if she should do it,” Nagla adds. “I said ‘What would Pretoria say’, and she just laughed. ‘What can they do about it? In two days I will officially no longer work for the South Africa government.’ She didn’t care what they might think about it. She wanted to know if it would be respectful to Palestinians if she wore it. I told her I thought it would be seen for what it was: her respect for, and appreciation of, Palestinian culture.”

“And you were right, Nagla.” Wissam nods towards the crowd. “Look at everyone—they love her for the statement. She truly cares about all of us. She might have demanded a lot, but she gave a lot too. I’m going to miss her.” He goes silent.

“I miss all of them,” he adds, wistfully.

And they all nod silently.

At the end of the evening Eleanor comes over to them. There are tears in her eyes. She gives each of them a long embrace. Soon they are all snuffling and drying eyes.

They wonder if they will ever see each other again.

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Bonus Material

• The farewell party

• Eleanor’s final letters

• A behind the scenes looks at what is actually involved in running a diplomatic mission in an active conflict zone