'Anata-Shu'afat
8:40 - 9:40 Shuafat
We arrived in pouring rain, crossed to the parking lot for buses through the "sleeve
". At this hour the parking lots were already empty.
One cannot avoid mentioning the piles of filth and garbage strewn in every corner.
We watched the long line of cars leaving the neighbourhood. And one car in particular which arrived with us. For 10 minutes we moved in tandem with this car until it reached the checkpoint.
We joined the line for pedestrians, waiting for our turn at the turnstile. Only one was working, letting through only one person with every opening.
In the line with us there were mothers with children, young men and older men. One young woman in the late months of her pregnancy was carrying an infant wrapped in a blanket. It was clear that standing on her feet was difficult. There is not a single chair or bench to sit on while waiting. Occasionally the line in front of the turnstile lengthened , depending on the arrival of buses. After 15 minutes it was our turn to cross -- bags x-rayed, documents held against the window. A female soldier checks, the rest sit idle behind her. (Why is not another position operative?)
We exit and watch the crossing of cars. The spot is only seemingly protected from the rain. They did not like our presence there and asked us to move in the direction of the exit. We saw that the cars crossed without checking. As far as we could tell, the passengers arriving by bus disembark in the parking lot for buses, next to the "sleeve" leading to the checkpoint. They undergo a security check and proceed to the buses parked at the exit from the checkpoint.
From the building they exit onto a red and covered "ackerstein" pavement. The buses await in the parking lot in front of the "sleeve", a few meters away. The way to the bus parking lot is blocked by a fence, guiding the passengers to an improvised path. On a rainy day like today the path is flooded and can be crossed only by walking through a stream of water. In fact the path is so constructed that one must cross the river of mud more than once, while cars driving by spray water and mud onto the pedestrians on their right.
We returned to our car, our garments, shoes and socks drenched.
Just imagine the pregnant woman with the baby, or the elderly and handicapped persons who have to cross in this manner.