Shaked, Anin, Rihan, Thursday, March 23, 2006, AMObservers: Raya T., Hassida S. (reporting)08.50-10.30Summary : We spent most of the time today at the Anin CP (Gate 214). The problems here are those we are familiar with: Gates are not opened on time, there are obstacles to cultivating olive groves that were left in the seam zone, and there is unemployment and economic hardship.Shaked CPWhen we approached the gate, the last of the people waiting were going through in both directions; and the gate was closed. Everything was calm as if “all’s right with the world.” We assumed that now the soldiers would be going to open the Anin gate and we decided to drive there.Anin CP (214) This is an “agricultural gate” near the village of Anin, which is in the northwest of the West Bank. The separation fence does not allow the farmers from Anin to get to most of their lands, which are on the west side of the fence, except through the gate, which is opened only twice a week, on Monday and Thursday, in the morning and in the afternoon. We reached the Anin CP at 08.15. The gate was closed. Four people and two donkeys tied to olive trees were waiting for it to open. As at Shaked, there is no sign on the gate notifying people of when it is open or shut, only two telephone numbers: one of the Salem District Coordination Office and the second of the “Humanitarian” Center in Jerusalem. We phoned the brigade headquarters to tell them that the gate was still closed. They thanked us politely and said that the soldiers would get there immediately. After ten minutes, we phoned the DCO, and they said that the gate is supposed to be opened at 10.00 and that “they know”. According to those waiting, they know that the gate is supposed to open at 08.00. Finally, the soldiers got there at 09.20 and then about 40 people came up to them from the other side of the gate, among them women with children, two old people with donkeys and two tractors. They said that they had been waiting for two hours for the gate to open. There are recurring complaints about the irregular opening hours in the morning and especially in the afternoon. Sometimes the gate opens at 09.00 and then it is opened again for their return at 14.30 or at 15.30. Even in the winter, when there is rain (and there is no shelter of any kind) they sit and wait for a long time, sometimes with children. During the short olive-picking season, the gate is opened more frequently and for a longer time.Another complaint was that there are not enough work permits. Usually only the head of the family gets a permit to go out to work on the land on the western side of the fence, and sometimes he is old and is no longer able to take care of the trees as well as he should. Under normal conditions, the entire family mobilizes to carry out the seasonal work and the places of the old people are taken by the younger generation. The complaint that always comes up everywhere, in the big CP at Rihan as well, is that there is no work, no means for making a living; life is very hard. The passage through the gate is carried out while lifting the shirt, and exposing the waist, and the well-known pirouette. One man, dressed well, complained about how insulting this procedure is. When the gate closed, we drove to Rihan.10.00 RihanAt this time, there are very few passing through; they are the passengers of a Palestinian taxi, who were coming from the West Bank to the seam zone. The driver waits for them at the side until they go through the terminal. That did not take more than a few minutes. The drivers in both parking lots complain as usual that there are no passengers and they cannot make a living. A truck loaded with vegetables is inspected very carefully, case by case. We were warned not to go near the place of inspection. Second Lieutenant T. said that they had received a warning about a truck of this specific color (blue and white!) loaded with dynamite. But they did not find anything like that.