May  06 Newsletter

[back to the Table of Contents]

        The Exit From Bethlehem
Ahmad Badawi

The slow decay of a collapsed economy has found room for itself alongside the pre-existing burdens of occupation within the livelihood’s of the people of Bethlehem. The series of hardships incurred have began to erode their morale and their will to remain, thus fueling mass exodus from one of Christianity’s holiest cities.  Once you are able to detach yourself from their misery and make your way towards Jerusalem, you are confronted with the massive “security” barrier, the occupation’s manifestation of isolation imposed on the besieged Palestinian people. Some have argued that the barrier is for “security purposes”. This is a term that is vaguely defined and loosely applied to the Palestinians. However, the barrier has not provided the longed for security of either party. During the course of our trip, Tel Aviv suffered yet another suicide bombing and a blow for the security of the Israelis. The Palestinians’ security was forgone decades ago. As you approach the wall you begin to understand the reality of the occupation on the ground, the might of the Israelis (made possible through continued American support) and the scattered efforts of resistance spray painted on the wall.

            I go through the first metal detector as the Israeli guard eyes me suspiciously. Perhaps my physical features make him uneasy. Not wanting to waste time arguing with a teenager with a modified M-16 partaking in the occupation, I show him my passport. The blue cover makes him appear somewhat relieved. Green light, I can pass. The metal of the revolving door is cold as are the stares of the young soldiers. Inside the barrier, a queue is forming. Some Palestinians are being turned back.  Once again the revolving door stops as I approach it and the light turns red. I wave my passport. A few seconds pass as they compare my physical features to the pieces of paper I have in my hand. Green light, I can pass. I place my bag on the rubber conveyer belt waiting for it to be inspected via radiation as I go through the second metal detector (in case I figure out a way to acquire explosives from within the security barrier itself). Thinking that by now I have showed my papers twice in less than a few minutes, I might be able to walk through. I am very much mistaken and I am stopped again. I hand my passport to the young girl behind the window. After she has had her share of fingering the passport she hands it to me nodding with her head signaling that I can continue. Green light, I can pass. As I approach the exit, some more Palestinians are being turned away. They have their permits but are not allowed to pass. “We only want to see the church” the lady says to me in Arabic. I guess I look the part. She asks me to help explain that to the guard. But he will have none of it. I express my apologies and make my way to the final guard. He has watched my conversation with the lady, he hasn’t understood it though. I hand him my passport. He is uneasy perhaps even confused. He fingers my passport even more as he continues to eye me. He grunts as he hands me back my papers. I exit the wall and the sun is shining.  The striped bus is waiting and is beginning to fill up. I look at the shekels in my hand trying to find the right amount. The driver smiles as he follows my counting of the foreign money. He knows I am not from around here and asks about my origin. I explain to him that I am from Egypt but hold another nationality and that many Egyptians would like to come to Palestine but are not able. He, as well as the rest of the Palestinians I met during my short stay, were delighted to meet an Egyptian. He practices his Egyptian dialect with me as we approach the Old City gates of Jerusalem.