Etzyo DCO: A pregnant woman got stuck in a carousel
The above was shown to us by a woman who has a father in Jordan who is dying. I think that the casualness of the note shows the attitude taken towards Palestinians even when they are in distress. The lady, whose passport it is, has a father in Jordan who is dying and there is no other family near him. The lady had had fines which she had paid but she was also GSS prevented. She said she did not know why. We always tell people they can be honest with us and that we will not report the details but we also know that the GSS does not give the reason why people are refused. She paid a lawyer called Barazani 3000 shekel to have the "prevention" removed. He assured her that the matter had been dealt with. But when she arrived at the checkpoint, she was refused. Who knows if she will get compensation from the lawyer. She showed us his picture and we can only hope that she will get to see her father before he dies.
A man who had a work accident in Israel and walks with difficulty with a crutch needs someone to accompany him to the hospital where he is being treated and has received a permit each week. For some reason.....he was not given an explanation ....this time he has been refused the accompaniment. We gave him the usual numbers and he thanked us but walked off saying that no one can help the Palestinians and we must agree. There is no one at the DCO to whom one can speak. The Palestinians tell us that their lives have become more and more difficult with the new government.
A settler arrived with his foreman. All the settler's workers have permits. Only his foreman cannot get one. Each time the settler has tried to contact someone, he was told to do so by mail. Each time he was told to bring another document. He came in person with his foreman and Shlomit gave them a number whom to contact. Again the same unpleasant woman clerk came out shouting his name. Again he was told to bring another document. She came out by the way, to speak to him but stood in the exit passage from the offices behind the bars. She did not even have the common politeness to come out of the passage and down the steps to speak to him. Are we supposed to take comfort from the fact that he was treated as a Palestinian? Both he and the foreman thanked us. For what? A telephone number?
A man who has the papers showing his ownership of a tow truck has been accused of transporting a stolen car. He proved that the car was not stolen but finds that he is now police prevented.
An Israeli Arab came with his uncle and the document to show their ownership of land near Tarkumiya. There is now an Israeli quarry on their land. Why are they sent to Etzion DCO where there is no one here to deal with this problem? Why are they not given the name and phone number of the army official who is in charge of matters pertaining to the land. Even though he rarely answers the phone.
A pregnant woman got stuck in the bars of the turnstile. We managed to get her out but I am not sure if it was because I was standing and shouting for the non-existent soldier at the window....or that Shlomit managed to catch one of the Palestinians coming out of the offices and asked him to go in and tell the soldiers that there was a problem. By the way, why does the army simply close the window with a piece of cardboard on the window to show that there is no one on duty. It has been like this for months now. And don't tell us that with all the cameras at the DCO the soldiers could not see what was happening. By the way the women's toilet is still closed as it has been for months and there is no water in the dispenser in the waiting room.
One has to ask if this specific DCO is trying to prove how in this age of automation the IDF enjoys dealing with everything in the most primitive manner?
There is so little we can do for these people. We warn them not to go to lawyers, unless given the names by Sylvia or one of the other organizations, in the hope that somewhere along the line someone will help them.
Each time we leave Etzion DCO with a feeling of disgust.