Qalqiliya - The city is Open

So how are things?  Alhamdulillah, Okay, thank goodness.

The closure over Qalqiliya is over, the town is opened now to Palestinians who are not its residents. Others, like Palestinian citizens of Israel, are still kept out. Asking why Qalqiliya is treated differently when other towns in the West Bank are open to non-residents nearly since the beginning of this special Corona-time, O. presumes that the reason is that not a single resident of Qalqiliya came down with the Coronavirus and the city governor is proud of his ability to keep his residents healthy…

Children are still out of school and the date of their return is not yet in sight. There is the possibility of distant learning, but the children don’t really stick to their screens even when offered courses. They are busy with other screens, telephones and the like, at nighttime. Daytime they spend sleeping.

Shopping is still limited – including for clothes, and this bothers the residents in view of the approaching eid – holiday terminating the Ramadan month. Food shops are open only until 7 p.m., and crowding is still typically seen at the Ramadan-specialized sweet markets. On the other hand, they don’t understand why mosques are still closed, especially while the next-door sweets shops are swamped with customers and long waiting lines.

As a rule, no one is ill, there’s health (thank goodness), movement in town is free, and even livelihood is not back to normal, there are no complaints. Blessed Ramadan…