On the Ground

I have been wanting for some time to try to describe what it's like day-to-day in this place of conflict, yet I have found that surprisingly difficult to do. First, because it's easy to accelerate very quickly to stridency and partisanship and I don't want to do that; I don't think that's why I'm here. Second, my experience as a foreign, especially American, visitor is very different from what it's like to actually live here. Finally, my perspective is unavoidably skewed. Everyone here lives within a context. Mine happens to be as a volunteer with a Christian church, so nearly all my experience so far has been with Palestinian people. I have made some new Israeli friends and hope to be able to experience more of that context, but for now I have a biased perspective. So with all those caveats, here goes.

I don't think you can understand anything here - in this context at least - without understanding checkpoints. They undergird so much of life. Checkpoints are "security" facilities operated and maintained by the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). There are around 500+ at any time in the Occupied Territories. Some are large concrete, steel and glass permanent structures, some are concrete roadblocks, some you drive through, some you have to leave your vehicle and walk through. There are "flying checkpoints" that are put there for one day only.

At the checkpoints, you have to show your ID card, or passport, to soldiers. (All Palestinians have to carry an ID, showing where they live and their religion. Yes, their religion) In some checkpoints there is x-ray scanning. All require some waiting - sometimes 10-15 minutes, more likely longer, sometimes 3-4 hours. Most are out of doors so it can become quite cold or hot. They close at night, so you better not have to go anywhere at night. Sometimes checkpoints are closed for days because of "security" reasons. This happens alot at Erez crossing, the single checkpoint into and out of Gaza.

Most of the soldiers are quite young. They have big guns. They have absolute authority. Many are not nice - I have been taunted myself ("You are Christian?" Yes. You hate Muslims? No. Who do you hate? No one. Come on, everybody hates someone.") The soldiers sometimes play solitaire on the computer while people wait. They take 2-3 hour lunch breaks while people wait. But some soldiers recognize what's going on. Check out http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/.

As an American, I can get through checkpoints. Palestinians often cannot. Sometimes a permit is required as well as the ID. A permit takes several days to obtain and specifies where you can go and how long you can be there. So if you live in Ramallah and want to visit your spouse in Bethlehem, you might or might not be allowed to go even if you have an ID and permit - for "security" reasons. (Some married couples have to live in different cities because one doesn't have the right permit). A doctor at one of our facilities in East Jerusalem lives in Ramallah. He has been coming to work every day for 15 years to work with the handicapped children at the center and some days, a soldier will not let him through for security reasons. He cannot go to work that day. (The doctor is being treated for hypertension.)

The thing is, nearly all these checkpoints are within the Occupied Territories, not at the Israeli-Palestinian border. It's difficult to understand how checkpoints within Palestine make Israel more secure. It's difficult to understand how not being allowed to go to work or to the hospital makes someone else more secure. No, there are no exceptions for medical care. A mother in labor with twins is held at a checkpoint because it's afterhours. Her premature twins die. A man with an acute myocardial infarction dies while waiting his turn at a checkpoint. Such episodes are not folktales, they are well documented by the many observer and advocacy groups here.

Believe me, this wears you down quickly. I have found myself becoming very passive, submissive and angry after only my short time here. You learn that to resist means the folks behind you will only have to wait longer. You learn that making trouble makes soldiers angry and they will take it out on the next Palestinian. I can always get through - I pay for those uniforms and big guns after all. Palestinians cannot always get through. So I shuffle along, look at the ground and avoid eye contact and hope no one is ugly to me.

Post-Script: I went to Nablus yesterday. Nablus is the largest city in the northern West Bank, about 250,000 people. It is viewed by the IDF as a hotbed of militancy so it's been pretty much locked down for several years. There are 8 checkpoints surrounding Nablus so it's hard for people there to get out, especially young men. The only checkpoint open these days is at Huwarra, one of the most notorious checkpoints in the West Bank because of its crowds and long lines, discomfort, and adversarial soldiers.

I was travelling with a companion from Canada. Leaving Nablus, as we approached Huwarra we saw crowds and could see it was going to be at least an hour wait, likely more. We had stood in line just a few minutes when a young Palestinian man behind us asked where we were from. We told him. He told us we didn't have to wait in line; as foreigners we could just walk up to the soldiers, show our passports and they would let us through. We couldn't see through the crowd where he was telling us to go, so he left his place in line and took us there. We went on and he was right. The soldiers barely looked at the passports, waved us on, and said Have a Nice Day.

We still had three other checkpoints to go through and the trip to Jerusalem, about 40 miles, took 2.5 hours but was only that quick because of the expedited pass at Huwarra.

I wasn't going to write about this episode because it didn't provide the anguish and angst I wanted to convey. As I reflected on the event, though, it actually tells more about what it's like on the ground here in Palestine. Driving away, my companion and I realized we had had a Christ-sighting. This young man had a long wait ahead of him, and even after that he would have a poor chance of getting out. But he asked us, who represent the two imperial powers of the world that most account for the hardship he experiences every day, what he could do for us. He offered us his hospitality and generosity. That happens here all the time from this kind, gentle, generous people.

If you're looking for Christ in your life in this season of Advent, come to Palestine. He might me standing behind you at the checkpoint at Huwarra.