Bethlehem Checkpoint: No limit to suffering under the Occupation's boot

A quiet and good morning at Bethelehm checkpoint, 300. So many people coming out of the checkpoint in  the morning told me. But if you arrive at Tantur in the early morning  when it is still dark  no one could ring  out the bell and say, "5 0'clock and all is  well." All along the road starting from across from Tanatur they sit, lie and sleep, pray. I always ask if I can photograph saying that it is for a human right's association and rarely am I refused but today a young man who spoke a good English refused me in  no uncertain terms. Many of them coming at 2am or 3 am to make sure that they get through the checkpoint so as not to lose their jobs. Unfortunately my camera is not good enough to show the scenes as they should bed shown. In the picture underneath had I been able to get nearer I would have photographed the man sleeping  in the field on a pile of  stones

 I explained to the young  man  why I was doing so and  he was coldly angry. He asked  what good had we done all the years that we have been coming. I said very little but I asked him if it would have been better had no one come, no one seen, no one photographed and no one told. What good does it he asked. No one cares, not here, not in America, nowhere do people care what happens to the Palestinians. He had studied for five years at university and what had it got him. There was no work on the Palestinian side. I asked if he did not feel that the Palestinian Authority also had a certain responsibility for this, Five days a week he comes through to Israel looking for a job.  He says he has no hope.  Nothing will ever change.  He said he respected me but I was wasting my time. I said maybe but I would continue to do so.

At the checkpoint many people came through and stopped to say it had been a good day but that usually Sunday is terrible and that we should come then. Of  course we only see the Israeli side. There are mainly men coming through, putting on their belts again. Some  hold your eyes as they walk past and one can see the dislike, others smile and wish you a good morning. Interestingly enough it must be some kind of female banding together as nearly all the women smile and have a pleasant word as they come past.

There was a plesant  young soldier who twice came to offer me a chair but I refused as somehow do not feel comfortable to sit while people who have had such a hard time rush through on their way to work. Actually I would have been happy to do so having taken a very dignified and orchestrated slide across the kitchen floor the previous day on some oil which I had spilled. At one stage the soldier had to move  a police barrier against which I had been leaning and apologized and later brought it back to me. I said goodbye to him when I left at 6.45 saying he had been very polite.

It was light when  I Ieft but there were still hundreds of men milling around waiting for transport or maybe on the off chance to have a job offered to  them.

A good day at Bethelehm. You could have fooled me.