Qalandiya - lack and despair are great.
His face lit up when he greeted me, and I too was glad to meet him after such a long time.
He said he was alright, everything is fine, life is beautiful, but after talking for a few minutes obviously what he had said was no more than niceties, cultured people talk, and nothing was alright. In fact everything is shitty. He and his other family members and friends have no work, he is back here in the space between the refugee camp Qalandiya and the Qalandiya Checkpoint in order to try to eke out a living by vending. He hopes that if the drivers here, always stuck in traffic jams, buy some tissue packages from him, he could bring some food for his family in the evening.
He, Younes, on the right, asked to be photographed as he did as a very young child. I took his picture.
- Will you bring the picture: he half asked, half wished.
- Sure, sure, I promised.
Our happy meeting turned around sadly because of the realities of life of Younes and his friends, a sadness that only grew in my conversations with people whom I ran into and wished to tell me.
Some of the things I heard:
- So far I have made only fifty shekels.
- Israel has put us back not a year or two, perhaps five-hundred years.
- At home the kids cannot understand we have no money. They need food, clothes, toys, things for school.
- Here (in the West Bank) things are bad, but in Gaza it’s worse, more lack.
- Every day we wait for tomorrow, perhaps tomorrow – God willing – will be better. And if not, we will go on waiting.
At every street corner, in every meeting with people, old friends and new acquaintances – lack and despair are great.
Advice for those going through inspection in the Checkpoint:
Even if the route is hard, and you absorb insults and cruses, raise your gaze and look at the view, the picture on the wall opposite you.
I have not yet seen it, perhaps because I wished to hurry up and get away from this horrid place, perhaps the picture is new, but it seems to be shouting: ‘Hop, hop, this is Europe.”
It’s like a wet dream come true of the Minister of Economy, Nir Barkat, who coined the slogan: “What is good for Europe is good for Israel.”
Location Description
Qalandiya Checkpoint / Atarot Pass (Jerusalem)
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Click here to watch a video from Qalandiya checkpoint up to mid 2019 Three kilometers south of Ramallah, in the heart of Palestinian population. Integrates into "Jerusalem Envelope" as part of Wall that separates between northern suburbs that were annexed to Jerusalem in 1967: Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya, and the villages of Ar-Ram and Bir Nabala, also north of Jerusalem, and the city itself. Some residents of Kafr Aqab, Semiramis and Qalandiya have Jerusalem ID cards. A terminal operated by Israel Police has functioned since early 2006. As of August 2006, northbound pedestrians are not checked. Southbound Palestinians must carry Jerusalem IDs; holders of Palestinian Authority IDs cannot pass without special permits. Vehicular traffic from Ramallah to other West Bank areas runs to the north of Qalandiya. In February 2019, the new facility of the checkpoint was inaugurated aiming to make it like a "border crossing". The bars and barbed wire fences were replaced with walls of perforated metal panels. The check is now performed at multiple stations for face recognition and the transfer of an e-card. The rate of passage has improved and its density has generally decreased, but lack of manpower and malfunctions cause periods of stress. The development and paving of the roads has not yet been completed, the traffic of cars and pedestrians is dangerous, and t the entire vicinity of the checkpoint is filthy. In 2020 a huge pedestrian bridge was built over the vehicle crossing with severe mobility restrictions (steep stairs, long and winding route). The pedestrian access from public transport to the checkpoint from the north (Ramallah direction) is unclear, and there have been cases of people, especially people with disabilities, who accidentally reached the vehicle crossing and were shot by the soldiers at the checkpoint. In the summer of 2021, work began on a new, sunken entrance road from Qalandiya that will lead directly to Road 443 towards Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At the same time, the runways of the old Atarot airport were demolished and infrastructure was prepared for a large bus terminal. (updated October 2021)
Tamar FleishmanApr-16-2025Qalandiya: summer fruit
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