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A day in the life of G.ho.st By Guy Griml Tags: Palestinian-Israeli project "I'm very proud of this Palestinian-Israeli cooperation. A project of this kind contributes to the Palestinian economy," says Rami Abdulhadi, 32, director of marketing communications at G.ho.st. Abdulhadi, who lives in Ramallah, is one of the company's 35 Palestinian employees. "I'm in charge of everything that has to do with marketing the G.ho.st Web site and contact with the media," he says. Before moving to G.ho.st, Abdulhadi worked for four years for a joint project of the European Union, the Spanish government and the Arab League in Spain. He has a bachelor's in business and marketing from Bethlehem University and a master's degree in international cooperation from Granada University in Spain. "G.ho.st's motto 'no walls' has two meanings," he says. "One is technological, 'no walls' in the sense that you can take your desktop anywhere; and the second is that ghosts go through walls and G.ho.st circumvents the walls between Israelis and Palestinians." Abdulhadi does not feel that there is a war going on in Ramallah, the way there is in Gaza, but he says that the occupation affects him, too. "We don't have the Israeli army inside the city, but a five-minute drive brings me to the Kalandia checkpoint," he says. "Seventy percent of the people who work at G.ho.st have a permit to go to Jerusalem, but if someone doesn't have a permit, then we can't have a meeting face to face, only by videoconference. Sometimes we meet at the gas station on the road to the Dead Sea. Advertisement "Even the permit I have is not easy to use. It expires every three months and then I have to renew it - fill out a form, attach a letter from the company, and wait two or three weeks for an answer." What does your day look like? Abdulhadi: "I get up at 7:30 A.M., have coffee, turn on the TV. I watch Al Jazeera, Al-Arabiya or CNN, take a shower and get dressed. I start my workday at 8:30 A.M. Until 9 A.M., I read e-mails and answer urgent messages. Then I take care of the routine stuff. I have short meetings with the employees, check on our progress on the different tasks, and have videoconferences with Zvi [Schreiber] on Skype or video. "At noon there is a 40-minute break, and then we order in food from restaurants. There's chicken, shawarma, pizza and more. We also have a large kitchen with drinks. Then I go back to work, usually until 5 P.M., sometimes until 8 P.M. If there is something urgent, like now, when we are preparing for an exhibition, we also work evenings and weekends." Does it bother you that your salary is different from that of an Israeli high-tech worker? "No, I'm not jealous. The standard of living here is different than it is in Israel. I don't make comparisons, and I'm satisfied with how things are here. I could have lived in Spain, but I chose to come back. I like Ramallah. I have my family here, my friends and nice weather. True, I make less than the Israelis, but I compare myself to others in the Palestinian private sector. The average here for someone who works in the private sector and has six or seven years of experience is $2,000 a month. That's enough for me." Are you optimistic about the situation here? "There will be a solution at some point, but certainly not in the next year. Hamas have chosen their way. I'm not sure it's the right way, but they represent a great many people." Do you dream of the startup being sold? "Like everyone. Everyone thinks about that, and wants to succeed." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Terror in the capital A Palestinian rammed his bulldozer into a bus in Jerusalem, killing three. Poetic injustice Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish blends sarcasm and hope in his latest work.

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