Qalandiya, Wed 13.10.10, Afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
15:50-18:00
Summary of the afternoon at the Qalandiya checkpoint: long lines and crowding at peak hours, every single day, but who cares?
15:50 The coffee seller tells us that today, except for early in the morning, everything is ok and there are no delays. Three lanes are open. Now it's rush hour, when students and workers are returning to Jerusalem, and everything isn't ok; it depends who's watching.
Long lines form immediately.
The usual terrible traffic jam and chaos at the "red" plaza. The locked barrier forces everyone traveling from south to north to make a long, unnecessary detour.
16:40 There are still many people jammed in front of the three open lanes.
Between 16:00-18:00 it takes about 30-40 minutes to go through.
A woman who works in Ramallah leaves work at 15:00 and gets home at 18:00, if not later.
It also took us 40 minutes to get through, and at the end the female soldier yelled to Daniela, "Yes! to checkpoints