Reihan, Shaked, Sat 27.6.09, Morning

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Observers: 
Shula N., Noa L. (reporting)
Jun-27-2009
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Morning
 

0730 - 0815 Shaked-Tura CP

A long queue of vehicles, including a donkey cart is waiting to go through from the seamline zone to the West Bank. On the other side about 20 pedestrians are waiting to go through to the seamline zone. What has happened today? It turns out that the computer fell, all the inspections are done manually and more slowly than usual. In the meantime, one of the people waiting talks to us: "Life is hard ...  it's hard to get work and the delays at the CP embitter life .... what is all this for? After all, from the seamline zone you can get to every place in Israel. Now I am marrying off a daughter and because of the problems of going through the CP I have to organize two parties -- one on either side of the fence. And that doubles the expenses ... What's the big difference between us and you, why can't we have a normal life like you do ...?"

A little girl of eight and her sister are waiting to go through to the West Bank. The girl needs to get to a clinic on the other side, but they do not let her go through without her mother. We got in touch with the DCO -- and the girls went through. Little by little all of them go through, from both sides, and when we left there were no more people waiting.


0825 - 0930 Reihan-Barta'a CP
There is a lot of traffic in both directions: many cars are waiting for passengers in the upper parking lot, but only two cars are waiting to go through to the seamline zone. From inside the terminal we hear a tremendous noise -- doors slamming. For a short time, two posts are in operation and then only one. Those going through report that the time of passage is from half an hour to a whole hour, and they mention that on Saturday, there are many problems. Inside about six people who do not have permits are waiting to go through to the West Bank. They tell us that on Thursday they closed the terminal for two hours, for no reason. We called the DCO in order to help speed matters up, but we didn't see that we had any influence.

A few people asked us for help: Women who work in Barta'a report that recently they are being given a runaround when they need to get permits. They are sent to Salem every week to have prints taken of their hands, and even then the permits are not always renewed. Their employer says: "If they want money, let them tell me and I will pay in advance for every month; let them not make problems, but for no reason whatsoever, they put people through a humiliating ordeal and hurt the work." Another man asks for help in getting an ID card for his son who is 16. The mother is a resident of Barta'a and the father is from the West Bank, and the son is not allowed to have an ID card. We gave the details about one of the women workers who could not get her permit renewed, and also the details about the boy without the ID card to Ruthy and Neta who work on these things with dedication.