Qalandiya
10:00 - 13:00
Qalandiya is an awful sight even with hardly any people around. It's good to visit the checkpoint together with people who do not know it, because then you see it in all its "glory". The empty cages with the barbed wire-fences above them leave no room for doubt about the humiliation and anger of those who have to pass through them. The Palestinians won't forget the suffering and humiliation they experience at the checkpoints. No revenge is like the revenge of the humiliated.
The guests are two artists, a sculptor and a video artist, who are planning to create a work of art expressing what we see today – in one way or another, and as far as possible, with our cooperation.
About a hundred people, mainly women, crossed while we were watching the checkpoint. The crossing was slow, probably since most of the women, especially the old ones, don't know the "procedure", the taking off of shoes and the gathering of all their belongings are a problem for old people. The communication with the soldiers isn't simple, although there were no clashes. Many reports have been written about the terrible filth, and now after the rain, the situation is even worse. Almost all the benches have disappeared - probably through the years. One woman was sitting on one of the few benches still left. She was freezing cold while waiting for her transportation to Gaza. (Qalandiya seems to be the coldest place in the world.) The hospitals are informed about the hours of transportation to Gaza, so it's hard to understand why they don't release the patients accordingly.
At the entrance to the checkpoint from the direction of Jerusalem a big sign shows what the place will look like when the renovations are completed. That is, meanwhile the occupation is still going on and we will probably keep watching Qalandiya "until the end of time".
We returned to Jerusalem through Shoafat which was crowded with people. Many new shops have opened and the place is full of life.
One more day of occupation!