Reihan, Shaked, Tue 1.9.09, Morning
Irit L,. guest photographer
Translation: Bracha B.A.
Today is the first day of school. Irit came especially to photograph the students passing through from the seamline zone to the school in Tura in the West Bank.
06:30 Reihan Barta’a Checkpoint
ON the upper side in the seamline zone people are waiting for rides to work. People say that the passage through the checkpoint is “OK.” There is light traffic in the Palestinian parking lot. People arriving enter the terminal immediately..
07:00 Shaked-Tura Checkpoint
The gates
to the checkpoint are open and about 25 people are waiting next to the turnstile at the entrance to the inspection booth on the Palestinian side. A white Liaison and Coordination Administration vehicle is parked next to the checkpoint.
07:05 – The first kindergartener arrives in her father’s car. It passes through within two minutes.
07:10 Four older students arrive, their bags are checked quickly and they don’t enter the inspection booth.
07:15 – A group of 15 small children and 5 older children arrives and pass through in five minutes. Follwing them, three others pass through quickly. A man from the Liaison and Coordination Administration checks their names from a list. The children are dressed up for the first day of school, especially the kindergarteners.
A polite second lieutenant comes up to us and asks is we came to photograph problems of the students passing through. He is pleased that there are no particular problems and notes that they (the army) are learning all the time and trying to improve things. He says that there are about 60 children whose names are on the list. Each child says his or her name and is checked against the list.
Children continue to arrive and pass through quickly. Cars also pass through in both directions and are checked without delay. Among the passengers in the cars are also teachers whom we know from previous years. The fact that the students do not have to enter the inspection booth allows people to cross from the West Bank to the seamline zone at the same time. The herd of goats also crosses through.
07:45 – Children from the “lone house” between the fence and the settlement of Shaked arrive via the security road that runs along the fence and pass through to the school in Tura. 08:00 No more children are arriving and there is no line next to the turnstile. We left.