Good point Ellen, definitely high birth rates, multigenerational living and lack of privacy is common in arab countries but not nearly as extreme as it's in camps such as Balata.
That's on of the funniest thing's I've read for a while, I could just imagine all of it, the boring old friend, his obese brother and that god awful restaurant.
In this case the reason for this percentage is the Intifatas, almost every single young man in Balata took part in these wars. Posters of martyrs are everywhere and people talk about it constantly.
