By Eric Christensen and Ali Anderson

ali@newsroom.byu.edu

A 2-year-old Palestinian girl laid dead on the pavement near the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem earlier this week. Caught in the crossfire of the Middle Eastern conflict, the girl was struck by a stray bullet that ricocheted off a roadblock and killed her instantly.

One hundred yards from the scene of this tragedy, 176 BYU students now sit -- and wait. Housed in BYU's Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, they hear stories that paint a vivid picture of what is going on around them.

But, for now, those stories are the only exposure the students will have to the Holy Land they have gone to visit. Students are confined to the center's grounds because of violent flare-ups in and near the Jerusalem area.

Natalie Marston, from Bountiful, Utah, said in a phone interview Thursday, Oct. 5, that she has seen many unsettling things in the past week that have left her searching for answers.

"We have seen people injured, lying on the side of the road," she said.

The center's lock up began Sept. 28, when right-wing Israeli politician Ariel Sharon visited the Palestinian-controlled Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Sharon's visit was an attempt to claim all Israelis have a right to visit the mount. Violent protests and riots resulted from the visit.

Marston and other students were allowed to leave the center from noon to 2 p.m. on the 29th to change money in preparation for an upcoming field trip. Before 2 p.m., they heard helicopters and ambulance sirens, Marston said.

"From where we were standing at the center, we saw complete chaos; we even saw an ambulance blow up," she said.

Marston said it was scary because she knew some students were still in the city during the explosion.

"People were running everywhere. There were like 10 times more people in the streets than on the busiest day," Marston said.

While on a three-day trip outside of Israel, students witnessed anti-American demonstrations, including the burning of American flags, said Mary Ann Turley, from Salt Lake City, in a phone interview Thursday.

Several students had their luggage randomly searched at the Israeli border upon returning to the country, Marston said.

"The guards also took me into a room and interviewed me. They wanted to know if I was carrying anything for anyone, and if anyone had tried to speak with me while I was out of the country," Marston said.

Although students have been following the happenings on CNN, some said they still feel uninformed about the details surrounding their safety.

"I think there are things they won't tell us," Marston said.

When contacted by NewsNet, Jerusalem Center liaison Jim Kearl offered no comment about the situation affecting Jerusalem Center students.

In an attempt to address concerns, the Jerusalem Center Administration conducted a question and answer session for students in Jerusalem Wednesday night, Oct. 4.

"One of the questions asked," Marston said, "was what the church administration was saying about them in Jerusalem."

Center Director Arnold Green reportedly told the students that brethren of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were saying a lot of things about the situation, but he couldn't pass them along.

Students have also been asked not to share details about what they have seen recently near the center, Turley said.

"They asked us not to give details -- but to understate rather than overstate," Turley said.

Yet, she and others continue to communicate with family and friends via e-mail and telephone -- without sharing specifics.

In the meantime, students plan to get ready for midterms by studying hard and catching up on their sleep.

Some said they are getting restless under the lockdown. They want to aid those affected by the conflict, but because of strict neutrality regulations the students are unable to do so.

"We can't help anyone; it drives me crazy," said Megan Nelson, from Scottsdale, Ariz., in a phone interview Thursday.

A student blood drive, to be sponsored at the center by an Israeli group, was being planned for this week. But questions have been raised about whether the drive would be fair, considering BYU's aim to remain neutral in the Middle East.

A few students said they may soon get bored with the limited activities offered, but Carri Jenkins, director of media communications at BYU, said they are safe in the center.

Despite all the turmoil and tribulation in Jerusalem, Jenkins said all 176 students are safe and accounted for.

"We have been monitoring it from the very beginning. There has been no danger to the center," Jenkins said.

Although no comments have been made regarding removal of students from the Middle East, Jenkins said BYU administrators are using prudence in the situation.

"We obviously won't keep them at the center if it's not safe," Jenkins said.

Students have been informed that buses are waiting to take them to the Cairo Airport, should their safety be threatened further, Nelson said.

Nelson said it is frustrating to be locked in and be missing out on Jerusalem, but she does agree with Jenkins. The tight security of the center has her and others feeling protected.

But others said they feel security is a bit too tight.

"We're safe, almost against our will," said Jackie Hart, from Logan, Utah, in a phone interview Thursday, Oct. 5.

Amid the violence, no field trips have been cancelled. And students are optimistic that none will be, Turley said.

But some parents of the students are concerned that their children will miss out on some aspects of the Jerusalem experience.

"I can't imagine how long they'll leave them there because they're missing out on everything that they paid a lot of money to see," said Annette Marston, mother of Natalie Marston.

But students see this unique situation as an opportunity to learn about the Middle Eastern conflict firsthand, Hart said. Seeing the fatal effects of the ongoing strife in Jerusalem has brought the story to life for students.

"It hurts more now that I'm over here. It puts faces on both sides -- the Muslims and the Jews," Hart said.

See related story:

Former Jerusalem Center students recall tension, restrictions 10/05/2000



Copyright Brigham Young University 5 Oct 2000