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RedditI didn't have to wait long for Ziad, the plumber, to come to my house. It had been a year since the current Palestinian intifada broke out in September 2000, and unemployment was at record levels. When Ziad and his two assistants took a break, I offered them coffee and we chatted. Like many Palestinians nowadays, one of the men kept birds. "I have over 200," he said. "I emptied one of the rooms of the house for them. They are great fun and very good business. So many people now want to buy birds. They're beautiful creatures."
"Do you have a parakeet?" I asked.
"Parakeets are expensive. You can't get one for less than 2,000 shekels. And they are sensitive birds. They're too much of a risk."
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