Qalandiya Checkpoint

We went to our respective placements during the orientation week for an introduction of the tasks to follow. It takes roughly two-three hours to travel from Jerusalem to Tulkarm. However the return trip can be much longer depending on the mood at the checkpoint. Every person travelling from Tulkarm to Jerusalem needs to pass by this point manned by Israeli soldiers. It was a nightmare on the day when we passed through. Being from an international country made no difference. We were forced to wait and suffer the humiliation like everyone else. The first line we followed was mixed with men and women. We were instructed to seperate into male and female lines after standing in this line for about 30 minutes. Another 20 minutes later the second line we followed was closed because the computers went offline. We returned to the initial starting line. There we waited around 45 minutes before eventually passing through the checkpoint. We were tired, hungry and frustrated. Thousands of Palestinians have to follow this procedure on a daily basis in order to reach work. For good reason many people became restless and started arguing with the Israelis who ignored them.