Duha and Nimat

The last few nights I have been staying in the city of Jericho. While driving to Jericho there is nothing, but sand for miles then suddenly you arrive at a small desert oasis. Papayas, which I helped myself to while I was there, composed only a small portion of the exotic and plush vegetation in the area. While undereducated (in comparison to other areas in Palestine), its actually a very open minded community. For example, more women than men are employed here and the family I was staying next door to was a mother with 5 daughters who was separated from her husband. That scenario is a rarity in the Arab world, but it is at least tolerated in Jericho.
The mother of the girls saw that I was visiting and asked if I wanted to join two of her daughters on their way into town to do some shopping that night. I was tired, but didn't want to turn down a good opportunity to interact so I accepted. The daughters I met were Duha and Nimat, fraternal twins. They were both 20 and spoke very little English. Between their limited English vocabulary and my broken Arabic, we were actually able to communicate better than expected.
The town, which that morning was dead with stillness, suddenly came alive at night and there were people, taxis, bikes, and markets everywhere. You could tell that few foreigners ever visited here because I could feel every person we past starring at me to an even greater degree than what I had deemed usual based on my experiences thus far. At one point when we were sitting down, one woman actually leaned forward in her chair (she was sitting one person away from me) just to get a look. I couldn't help, but laugh at how indiscreet everyone was.
Our first stop was at an Arab bakery. We all ordered shawera (kinafah), a sweet Arab treat that consists of cheese, sugar, and spices. Its sounds peculiar, but its delicious. The girls ordered and before I knew what was happening they had paid for my dessert. I tried for a good half hour to get them to take some money for the dessert, but they kept saying “No, no! Arabia, Arabia!” In other words, I was their guest and they wanted me to have a good time while with them and while visiting their country.
It's a cheesy word, which is why I never use it, but the best way to describe these two was "precious." They were constantly taking my hand to show me things or to pull me out of the way from the immense amount of oncoming traffic (be it car, bike, or person). They tried to explain certain things in shops to me and to engage with me in any way they could, but in the most genuine ways.
After running a few more errands, we came to a jewelery shop where Duha wanted to sell some jewelery. Nimat and I waited outside while Duha picked out a new piece of jewelery for herself in exchange for what she traded in. When she returned and the three of us began walking home, the two girls took my hand and put a ring on my finger. They both said “jemeela!” which means beautiful. I told them it was beautiful then gave it back, thinking they were showing me one of the pieces they'd bought. They had actually bought it for me and refused to take it back. They again told me I was their guest, and one day they could come visit me and I'd return the favor.
I hope that actually happens, but my heart sank a little when they said that. I know they're well aware they won't be visiting the US any time soon, for many reasons. They can't even leave the West Bank. It makes me think of how many different forms of oppression there are and how the lack of opportunity for these girls to experience anything outside of the town they grew up in must make them feel incomplete. I'm sure that's part of why my visit to them was such an exiting ordeal.
I believe that Duha has a job picking grapes, her two oldest sisters are married and live out of the house, and Nimat and the youngest daughter live at home unemployed while their mother cleans houses. Duha, most likely makes around 35 shekels for eight hours of work a day (that's less than ten dollars). They really don't have much of anything and here they are insisting on giving me gifts, which killed me. The ring they gave me, while attractive, is probably worth next to nothing from a financial standpoint, but to me its the most powerful piece of jewelery I own. I haven't taken it off since they gave it to me. It reminds me of how beautiful people can be and I know I'll be needing that reminder in the near future.