Qalandiya - whitewashing of the occupation?
Before I paint a rosy picture of a former hell hole, let me say as some of the Palestinians said to me, “But it is still a checkpoint.”
I think anyone seeing the new terminal just as an onlooker would be impressed….it is clean, except when one goes in through the passage from Israel
The old waiting room with its unpleasant memories stands silent. I do say silent and forlorn for it seems to carry the ghost of those memories and the unfortunate people who passed through it.
The new terminal is well lit, there is no crowding such as we used to see, people one on top of another, and it really does move quickly and efficiently . But I think of the times that we have brought people to see the horror of the situation there and also the photographers. When such people now come to Qalandiya how many of them will be aware what is going on behind this civilized scene. The West Bank, Hebron, The violence of the settlers, the soldiers who support them and give them a free hand, the nightly invasion of houses, children even under the age of 12 who arrested, the trees that are cut down, the schools which are destroyed, the demolition of houses. And I ask myself ….. Will Qalandiya be the whitewashing of the occupation. And of course the fact that not everyone will get a permit to pass here into Israel.
There were no handicapped people while I was there and I am not sure how one brings it to the attention of the soldiers that the door which Ronit or Ina wrote about is needed. I was rather bewildered going through so did not notice all the details which I should have and also forgot to ask the soldiers about the eight o’clock rule. Also I forgot to ask about the toilets and I have a horrible feeling that there are none. I only saw the sign.
I do not want to be a Job’s messenger ……I just hope that the various entrances will remain open and all the windows inside and that there will be no arbitrary punishment and sudden closures when soldiers need a break or when there is a terrorist attack somewhere.
Anat brought my attention to the fact that unlike Qalandiya from before the soldiers on the catwalk are very much a presence but when she tried to photograph the woman soldier on top called to her not to do so.
Our Bagel seller as has been said is out in the cold and said that on wet days he will not be able to stand there and is not allowed to stand just before the entrance.
The other kiosks have a definite position and the workers have some comfort but he does not. I wonder if he can make one.
The passage of cars is still a tangled heap and next time I will try to track one in line to see how long it takes. Cars come from both directions so that is a problem and it is lucky that there were no ambulances while we were there.
On the other hand everyone we spoke to was very happy about the change. There were smiles all around. People seemed to be coming at a more leisurely pace and not running. Again we were told that the workers could now get up later. The women especially said that they felt much more secure. Luckily for me Anat also is learning Arabic and we worked well together. According to one of the elderly ladies who said that, as she had a permit, she could go through before eight but otherwise the rule still held for those who did not. Even though we no longer have the same accessibility to the workers or the soldiers, the passage is a much shorter process than before and with people not being in such a hurry we can speak to them and follow the process of the checkpoint.
Outside the checkpoint again the area is like a junkyard and filthy. The whitewashing stops here.