Strict Scrutiny

I guess now I know what racial profiling is thanks to the Tel Aviv airport security. I hadn't even made it off the tunnel leading from the airplane to the airport and I was stopped and asked for my passport. Not only my passport mind you, but why I go to Pakistan, why i wanted to be in Israel, what is Al Quds and so on and so forth. This was just the begining of a very long morning.

I must have gotten of the plane at about 3 am, and didn't get my luggage until 6. I wasn't asked questioned for 3 hours, maybe an hour of discussion spanned over "please come into my office" then "ok you can wait outside" followed by, "please come here again" then another "wait outside". Fine, i understand security concerns, but what i dont understand is why so many people have to ask me the same questions over and over again. What is my father's name? grandfather's name? Pakistan? Why so many times? Human rights work, really? Are you a part of any NGOs now? Amnesty? Do you intent to engage in a protest? "Make sure you don't get arrested by the military" was the last substantial thing one security officer told me. Thanks. Like I was looking to get into trouble.

So, eventually, after signing a paper that says I will not break Israeli law, or get in any altercations with security forces, I was let out only to be stopped again 100 meters later. By another DIFFERNT officer. And guess what he asked me? Yuhp. the same shit all over again. And ended with, "you'll have to bring your luggage to be scanned".

As you can tell, I'm not so pleased. Granted, I thought life would be better after I got out of the airport. That was until the shuttle bus driver was intensly irratated that I handed him a 20 note instead of 50. So much so, that he practically pushed me and yelled in my face. O if we were only in America when that happened. No wait, it wouldn't have happened.

Finally, the best way to round off my morning (at this point it's about 8 AM), I get to this hostel and after asking for a woman's only room, I was put into a room with 3 other guys. Sorry, but do you not see my scarf and think that I would care? Don't tell me, "it's ok, he's sleeping". Bull shit. I forced him to let me pay more for a private room.

O and throughout all of this, and even now, 10 hours since I've been here, I still haven't met or heard from Huwaida. You have got to be serious if you couldn't make your way over here. She knows where I'm staying.

Things are not looking up. But then again, I'm a pessimistic traveler when things go wrong in succession. I'll give it a week. I'll be heading into Ramallah in about an hour for the first time. Inshallah that will go smoothly :-) (see optimism!)

But in closing, you tell me? My impressions of this country are already tainted and I've only been here 10 hours. God knows what I'll think when I leave, but that's why I came. to figure things out for myself. I guess I should keep that in mind.

Love you all. a LOT