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Diary Acesta este jurnalul lui Jan. Pentru a primi o copie prin mail inregistreaza-te pe formularul de contact. Momentan jurnalul este numai in engleza, catalana si spaniola.
‹Inainte Saptamana Dupa› ‹Inainte TARA Urmatoarea› Jerusalem (see on the map) 04/03/2008:
At 5:30 I left the autocaravan closed in the street, in front the house of Thomas, and I went in taxi towards the bus station, where after waiting for an hour I went up in a big bus where only there was another passenger going also to Israel. Although afterwards they were added more temporary, that confirmed the comment of Thomas that had assured me that between Israel and the Arab countries there is very few business and exchange, in spite of the closeness. When arriving to the Israeli part of the border of the Hussein Bridge, military youngsters with machine guns on shooting position and girls with bulletproof protection stopped the bus. While I was writing down these observations, a very severe officer went up on the bus and made me go down leaving the rest of passengers inside. After passing different detectors of metal and a strange machine that made air through my clothes, the officer with the machine-gun took me for questioning: why i went to Israel, who i knew, what had i done in Sudan, what i was writing in the bus... Surpassed the interrogation I added myself to the rest of the non Palestinian foreigners (these was another queue) and I delivered my passport to a girl of Ethiopian origin insisting that they did not print any seal for me, to be able to enter afterwards Syria. Most of the workers of the border were boys and very young girls ( probably doing the military service) and multiracial. I observed that my passport kept passing through different hands and whenever i could I addressed the person who had it and asked them: - You will not print me any seal, ok? Even then, they stuck an adhesive behind the passport that afterwards I had problems to take it off. While i waited, I conversed with an English that worked for an ONG helping the Palestinian people and he explained me very annoyed that, Israel and the governments that hold it are the only ones responsible for the conflict between Israel and Palestine. A part of the solution would be that the millions of Palestinian refugees could return to their lands and they were also compensated economically. Very probably an unacceptable proposal for the Israelis, and therefore, it seems that the conflict will continue for many more years. Later I have conversed with another also very critical cooperative with the Israel government. And finally I have talked with a Colombian girl who was going to visit a friend and to whom finally they have denied the entry. Meanwhile, the hours kept passing and, observing that the rest of foreigners kept passing, I asked: - What does it happen with my passport? And they always answered to me: - A moment, we are still processing your information. But finally, they called me for a second interview. I had to empty all my pockets and they closed me in a room with a corpulent boy in my back and an interviewer in front, and they started another time to question me. They had fear that i wanted to meet with Palestinians or that i took some message of somebody from Sudan. Finally they made me wait a good while, during which they checked all the information that figured beside my name in Internet, and passing probably a total of 5 hours waiting, printed the seal of entry in Israel in a paper separated from the passport. So much safety on the border was probably owed to the new climbing of the Palestinian – Israeli conflict, in which, terrorists had thrown numerous home rockets from the territory of the Gaza Strip against different frontier cities of Israel, getting to kill some person, and in answer the Israelis had bombarded and killed tens of people, among them children and women. And to consequence also of this climbing in the conflict, in Jerusalem, walking through the former city, all walled, I found the majority of shops closed, as a protest of the Palestinians traders to the israelian killings. Jerusalem is considered a saint city for the three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and amply disputed along the history, with crusades, wars, intifada... although traditionally the city has always been divided up into four areas or neighbourhoods: Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Armenian. I entered through the Muslim neighbourhood and next entered the Jewish one, after crossing a metal detector. There I found in front the wall of lamentations, a wall of stone that the pretty mosque of the dome of the rock formed part of a former Jewish sacred temple that was destroyed, and curiously now it is part of the wall that surrounds the place, that occupies the original situation of the Jewish shrine. Anyway, the Judaism considers that God moved its presence from the former shrine to the wall of the lamentations or named also the Western wall. And as i arrived , tens of Jews dressed in black and with caps (symbolising the aura, according to a friend from Israel) or hats of wing or of eccentric forms, read books groaning out loud facing the wall while, some with rhythmic and violent jumps, swayed ahead and behind. At night, Eli, a boy from couchsurfing received me and I had opportunity of living with a happy Israelí family. From his home, I connected myself to Internet and casually I read in the journal that the same day that was being finished, Israel had done a small military incursion to Gaza Strip killing about 60 people, including women and 8 children. I commented on the news to Eli, but he did not think it was bad, but natural, because in the journals of Israel in Internet they informed in a single line (which cost to find) that the army had killed the same number of people, but indicating that 90% were armed. When asking Eli if he believed normal the disproportion among the Palestinian dead men and the israelian, he commented me that yes, simply because Israel is more efficient militarily. And added that the Palestinian terrorists attack directly the population, however, the Israeli soldiers look for killing the terrorists, even if in the action they can kill children of the surroundings. Some not so convincing opinions under the concept of human justice or peace and I ended up thinking that other millions of opinions as this made more complicated the end of the conflict. In the same way that the conformism and consumerism of millions of families from the developed world, including me, are probably collaborating to the misery of the rest of the world. Even if always there are some good actions. For example, Eli was complaining that according to the Israeli law, the earth that is not cultivated loses the owner if another cultivates it, allowing some Israelis to gain the land of many Palestinians refugees that cannot return. Eli, in collaboration with some ONGs and other Palestinians helps plant trees in these lands so that the owners at present refugees do not lose it. On the other hand, I can seem very critical with Eli and other millions of Israelians, but that did not prevent me to make friendship with a magnificent boy who i could have as a real friend. The following day I returned to the old city and i did a long hike above the walls, without too much interest, and next I went up to the mosque of the Dome of the Rock, another sacred place, this time for the Muslims, because they consider that this is the point where the prophet Mohamed ascended to the sky, after his body was transported miraculously from Meca. In fact, the mosque of the Dome of the Rock is the third most saint, after those of Meca and Medina, and even, originally the Muslim prayers were done in this direction instead of Meca. It is not to miss then that exteriorly (it is not allowed to enter inside for the non Muslims) the mosque is wonderful, with some details of Islamic art as always surprising, as its big golden dome, which is visible from most parts of the city. Next, walking through small paved and steep alleys, some desert and another boiling of trades, generally destined to the tourists or pilgrims, I arrived to the church of the Sacred Sepulcra, a church worshiped by all the Christian confessions, believing that was erected on the hill where Jesus was crucifixed and where also he was buried. In the entry of the church there was a big slab of marble where they think that the body of Jesus was shrouded and where tens of believers crouched down to kiss it, to touch it and to lie down devoutly and passionately. Going up on some stairs there was situated a chapel in the point where they thought that Jesus was crucifixed, and, long queues were again waited to crouch down under the altar where the hole that sustained the cross is. And in another end of the church there were still more queues to enter in the small chapel where buried Jesus was (close to the other one). Asking, a monk he told me that the church was of the greco-orthodox confession, but afterwards I have read that the custody is of different confessions, not with few conflicts among them throughout its history. In the afternoon I met again with Eli, conversing animatedly and trying to convince me of the existence of telepathy and at night i went to see a match of básquet to the house of a friend of his, which will soon do a long journey through Latin-amèrica. And today in the morning I have left Jerusalem, I have crossed without any problem the Israelian and Jordanian border and have arrived to Amman where the autocaravan was still in the same place without anybody having touched it. --- I made use of my stay in Israel to take the pulse to the world with Eli, that gave an opinion that the main problem of the world are the human beings that are too egocentric. The solution would be conscience, the peace starts from the interior. In Israel the main problem is the endless war. The solution will be very late to appear. He tries to maintain friendship with all the parts. Eli is considered very happy. he does not need to worry for being happier. The secret of happiness is to be happy with what you have. Jordan Frontera amb S?ria (see on the map) 10/03/2008:
Had eliminated any evidence that gave away my previous presence in Israel, had erased files of the computer and concealed folders, and had hidden well for the car a small map of Jerusalem, a bloc of notes describing my stay there and the paper with the seal of entry and exit. Even then, it still thought that it could have problems to enter in Syria (a country with a part of the territory even occupied by Israel), especially for which behind the passport and there were evident remains that there had been an adhesive (which the Israelis had stuck me). In any case, it had revised well a very good history: in a club of diving in Egypt on me they had stuck an adhesive behind the passport when renting a dress of neoprene. I crossed troublefree Jordan but on border with Syria, after observing the brand of the adhesive behind the passport they told me, without showing gravity, that they should receive a confirmation from Damascus. I waited for the two hours that asked me and to 6 communicated me the news that did that the world fell to my feet. It could not enter in Syria because they were convinced that it had entered Israel. I tried to ask for explanations, to argue with them, to talk with the head... But the answer was always it, were convinced that it had entered in Israel and that deprived me of entering its country. A young policeman accompanied me outside, but without paying him attention, I addressed a hotel of the same border to do a call to the embassy of Spain in Syria, whose consul told me that the day after he would try to find a solution. I returned to the car disconsolate but not surrendered yet. If it did not manage to enter in Syria, very probably, neither it could enter Iran, for this country lets either enter Israel to anybody that has visited. On the other hand, the only way of arriving to Turkey through the ground was across Syria, and in that moment did not consider any other option feasible. The young policeman of Syria, accompanied me in the selfcaravan up to the border of Jordan, but remained well dazzled when I informed it that it did not want to enter in Jordan and I parked at half of the 100 meters in which they separate both borders. New civil servants of Syria made me park a little nearer to Jordan. Afterwards they were the Jordanians who came there to wonder what it made put aside. But when did I announce to them that it could not enter Syria but that it did not want to enter Jordan again and did they let me be camped there without too many problems. It remembered a small revolution that had appeared few years behind, as soon as possible of doing a journey to Kenya and Tanzania, I went to a centre of vaccination that to me had assigned some weeks ago. I admit that I arrived 5 minutes late to the consultation, but because of this delay, the nurse that was vaccinating many other travellers, refused to pricking me. I knew that if I did not vaccinate that day, they would give me hour after three or four weeks again, after the exit of the aeroplane, and that if it did not have the card of vaccinations in rule I risked not being able to enter Kenya (or to fall ill). In the face of such a situation, I caught a paper of a counter, I wrote "I want myself to vaccinate!" and I sat in the stairs as a sign of protest. After two hours, even after wrestling with the security guards, another nurse vaccinated me. In any case, he knew that this fight with the authorities and the Syria law would be much more complicated and long. On the following day in the morning, the policemen of Jordan left me to go to buy in the facilities of the border a Jordanian card SIM for the mobile telephone, with which I sent a message to Alexandra and I called the embassy Spanish in Jordan and Syria, who told me some hours later that they could not do at all that it could allow me an entry to Syria and they recommended me of returning behind. It was pissed off with the authorities of Israel for sticking adhesives behind the passport when of good insurance they knew that that deprived the entry in Syria, it was also pissed off with the Jordanian authorities for which probably they had a mole on its border that it was informing about who entered Israel or who not, and of course it was pissed off with the Syrian authorities, although it understood that they were observing its law, probably with the information received by its spy in Jordan. Anyway, he did not think yet to yield me. I started to stick posters to the windscreen and in the door of the selfcaravan on the message in English "I want to cross Syria to enter Turkey". Meanwhile, Alexandra tried to create conscience through Internet to defend my cause, but probably there are much more important problems in the world and I only received a couple of calls of some Syrians of couchsurfing commenting on me of what they could not make at all to help me. Even then, he still thought that he would wait for me for many more days or weeks between both borders until it found a solution. It had quite a lot food in the home, besides, of insurance that the truck drivers could offer me eaten further on, because even if they did not talk English, these seemed to have friendliness for my situation, and some of them had already offered me water to load the selfcaravan. In spite of everything, as they passed the hours and the few days, I also realised, without the victory having insured, that really should be weeks, months or years between both borders. On the other hand, even if it considered completely unfair not to be able to go through a territory, this neither was my fight, and thought that further on it would find other more important wars to which to dedicate my time and energy, and that now it was due me to keep traveling to know world and probably to discover which will be the future battles in which really I will want to fight. Anyway, to yield me I filled up of pessimism. The options to embark the car towards Turkey were Israel where they would hardly let me enter the car; Egypt, where it would probably have the same problems to enter it as the first time; crossing Iraq, almost completely discarded; or to forget Turkey and to try to cross Saudi Arabia, Arab Emirates and to take boat towards Iran, where neither they would not let me enter Israel if they discovered that it had been. In any case, before abandoning, I decided to pass one another night between both borders, during which I sent a SMS to the Spanish consul of Syria asking him whether the option that a driver drove my car for Syrian lands up to the border with Turkey, while I took the aeroplane, was valid. The day after in the morning it returned me the optimism another time when I received a SMS of the consul telling me that it would try to find me, a driver. Animated, I also got in touch to a Mr. Siriano that two days ago had stopped next to the selfcaravan to offer me help. After little the Syrian phoned me to report that it had found a driver for 300 me $. But an hour later it was the consul that called commenting that it had found a company that would charge me only me 100 $. In the face of this new perspective, I pulled the posters of the car out to soften any tension that there could be with the Syrian customs officers. And even more, I decided to leave the no-man's land, the space between the two borders to enter the facilities of the Jordanian border again. But this return, which he thought would be positive for the Jordanian and Syrian customs officers, originated another problem. The Jordanian policemen informed me that he could leave the car parked there, but I could not pass the night in the border facilities. But I did not want to go to Amman, nor not to take the car of the border either, for the rates of entry in Jordan were increased. On the other hand, they did not let me either turn the last ones over between the two borders where he had been camping three nights. Then I suggested them, that it would leave the car in the facilities, but I would catch the shop and would camp exactly to outside the borderrontier]>, and in the face of this proposal that is so ridiculous, finally the head of immigration left me to live in the car exceptionally. And now I was not capable of repressing the tears even of crying in silence. The head of immigration it asked me what passed me, but I was not capable of explaining myself. These days the had lived with too much tension, but separately, the tears seemed the only way of the immense feeling of gratitude expressing that it felt for all those people (Alexandra, the consul, the head of immigration, friends in Catalonia, and others) that were worrying about me, being implied beyond its responsibilities to find a solution. Now my friend Marc, manager of the company Servicios of Internet Javajan and owner of the selfcaravan, signing a document granting the power of conduction to the chofer found by the embassy was only missing. But when calling to Marc, this commented me that they were celebrating in another population the holiday of farewell of solero of another good friend that was married, and that the holiday would follow the day after, therefore (without desires of spoiling this dear wildness) it should wait for me two more nights, until Monday. Today Monday in the morning, Marc has confirmed to me that it had sent the fax with the powers to the embassy of Spain in Syria. Then I have called the director of the company of the chofer, informing her that this could pass to look for the fax in the embassy and come afterwards to look for the car on the border. But when the border]> has been introduced to the driver at noon, this had forgotten the fax, but on the other hand, when it has gone up to the selfcaravan and I have started to show him all the things that the selfcaravan had its cheerful face has gone off immediately. And immediately I have realised a problem that it had not had. To me they did not leave me to enter in the Syria customs, therefore the driver should show all the contents, but it could not explain all the things that the selfcaravan took (for example medicines), and maybe the authorities would retain the car until somebody - which could not enter - could declare the contents. The driver has turned over towards Damascus with the promise that the day after he would turn over with the fax. Anyway, the idea about the chofer any longer did not seem so good to me. When talking with the consul, this suggested once other to me to return to Jordan. And finally, as it can not talk with the director of the company of the chofer, and 6 days after being retained on the border, without Internet, without interacting with almost nobody, confronting daily problems, boring, tired, desperate... I have decided to abandon, without not even so alone to wait to morning, and at dusk I have paid again the cups of entry for Jordan for the car and have gone towards Amman. |
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