Janan Mousa met her friend Kara Wilson in preschool1 “[we] swore we'd be friends forever,” says Kara. E-mailing has helped keep them close.

Janan＇s Story
　　Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Janan Mousa, 17, moved to the West Bank city of Ramallah2 with her parents in 1997. When large-scale violence erupted3 yet again between Israelis and Palestinians three years later, Ramallah, home to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, became a hot spot4. E-mails to her best friend in the U.S., Californian Kara Wilson, 17, describe the scene.

Tuesday, April 3, 2001
　　Hey, Kara. We haven't talked in such a long time, um, where should I start? The other day, bombs went off in Jerusalem5. Later that night, my parents were out, and I was watching Scary Movie ( the corniest6 thing I've ever seen!" when I heard a real loud boom, the house shook and the power went out7. The house shook a couple more times, and the power was on and off the rest of the night. The next day I found out that [ the Israeli army had dropped bombs] close to my house.

Monday, May21, 2001
　　Hey, Kara, wut's up8? It's been pretty crazy here. School goes on, but sometimes stores close. It's not safe to go out much at night. Most of my friends are leaving for the summer. Some of them know it's for good, but lots [of others] might not come back. And that's the worst thing. Not knowing what to expect of next year.

Wednesday, October 24, 2001
　　[The Israelis] came into my city with tanks almost a week ago. We missed school for a day, and the university my parents teach at [in Birzeit] is closed because no one get to it. Our car is stuck9 [there].

Friday, December 14, 2001
　　Hey... I really wish I could write to u about everything, but things aren't so great. They were bombing a police station right next to my school yesterday and one of the missiles came into a classroom10. I saw it today, after I finished taking my last exam. The windows are completely shattered and the wall is messed up11. I can't exactly tell you how I feel, cuz12 I don't really know.

Friday, December 21, 2001
　　I had been dreading [civil war], and now it looks like [it could] happen. There aren't any Christmas trees cuz stores here buy from Israel, and now nobody goes there. But I'm learning to be satisfied with wut comes my way.

[On March 12,2002, Israeli troops reentered the Gaa Strip and Ramallah．]
Thursday, March 28, 2002
　　I wanted to let you know that I'm going to Birzeit. There are tanks surrounding Ramallah, [and] we don't wanna get stuck. I'll write soon. Love, Janan.

[At press time the Mousa family is back in Ramallah, and Janan continues to hope for an end to war． ″ I believe peace, a just peace with eaual right for everyone, can be reached,″ she says．]

=========================