2010年02月18日
（無料の翻訳サイトが忙しいらしくて協力的じゃないので原文で。最もイスラエル訛の英語を訛って - gを入れるとイスラエル訛風になるらしい - 表記されたのでは、さほど役立たない翻訳サイトも「お手上げ」だと思うし。イスラエル/パレスチナを訪問する時にベングリオン空港を使う方、必読。パスポートに貼付ける数字、1から6までの意味を解説している。3なら「安全」、余計な質問を受けることもないし、荷物を調べられることもない。この筆者は5か6、質問を受け、荷物も徹底的に調べられる。わたしはベングリオンは使わないけれど、パスポートにシールを貼られたことがあったっけ、う〜ん、数字は覚えていない。剥がしたことだけ覚えている。）
所在：
Sousan Hammad
February 18, 2010
I wait to be approached by the supreme marker, the Israeli “security” officer who tags the passports of the departed with a number that will decide the traveler’s fate. A group of Americans are in the queue beside me and so begins her monologue: What was yough pughpose of visiting Isghayel? Do you have a bomb with you? Weapons? Whegh in Isghayel did you go? Do you have any fghiends in Ghamallah? and on and on and on… As the lady moves to the next group, I, anxious and curious, ask the Americans what number they got. Number? yeah, what number did she give you? Uhhh…I’m not following you. let me see your passport. you see? I point to the sticker on the passport where there is a number hidden between chickenscratch and Hebrew, which, to me, looks like chickenscratch. see the 3? Oh… so what does that mean? asked the bemused American who looked like a soldier. Yes, I thought, he is definitely a soldier.
At that moment I decided I should stage a teach-in at Ben Gurion airport’s check-in line. If these tourists don’t know how Palestinians are treated then they will get a very brief lecture. Basically, it’s racial profiling, I say, by using a marking system with barcodes and all – it looks fucking sophisticated, but it’s really all systematic… and racist. You will know this because of their machinated reactions. Actually, sometimes I wonder if the head of airport security is a human. But that’s another story. Let’s start with the marking system. Numbers go from 1 to 6. You got a 3 and that means you are neutral, most probably you are a religious tourist but in this case you are a U.S. soldier who just came from Iraq. Actually, said the soldier, I am based in Georgia. Ah…well, I guess that is why you got a 3 because if you were in Iraq and the girl saw that on your passport you wouldn’t get a 3, you would probably get a 5. A “3” is safe, you won’t get questioned and your bags won’t get cavity searched and torn apart. You don’t want a 4, 5 or 6. What number do you get? he asks. I usually get a 5 or a 6 – which entails a puerile interrogation, getting poked at with a piece of cotton on a stick while taking your clothes off then on, and what I like to call V.I.P. treatment: a ‘shadow’, which is someone who has to walk you to your gate. A “6” is kind of like the Nazi’s yellow star. Remember in the Holocaust how German soldiers would pin a yellow star on a Jew to demarcate his or her fate? Well, the 6 is the worst and it’s usually the Palestinians who get it. A 4 or 5 will also get you questioned and x-rayed, but it’s not like the 6er whose books she or he carries has to be “analyzed” by the Israeli kid who just graduated from high school. G-E-N-E-T. Jeen Gennett? he will say. What is this thief’s joughnal ah? Oh, it’s really fascinating – you should read it. It’s everything you ever wanted to know about sex and death, especially if you like men. (This will take the kid off track from his trained routine.) Back to the marking system. Now, a 1 means you are a white Russian, or Israeli settler. The 1’s are the chosen ones – they are treated like gods and even get to skip in line at the ticket counter. The 2 could mean you are a half-Jew or a brown Jew. Watch and see what happens to me.
Three hours later…
She sits down at a table in the airport’s cafeteria next to people who are speaking Arabic. Filled with indignation and impatience the girl puts her bags down and looks at the young Israeli security officer who shadows her every move. why do you do this? It is protocol. protocol? don’t talk to me about protocols, this is absolutely racist – everyone in line with me was Palestinian. We do this for your safety. she looks into his eyes and they are empty, she wonders if he is real. safety? when’s the last time something happened in this airport? Well….that’s exactly it – never. exactly, never.
The girl gets up to get a coffee. He follows. i’m just getting a coffee – you stay and watch my things – that’s your job right?
The portly light-haired security officer asks her about Jose Saramago – the author of the book she is reading. you’re interrupting me, i was just at the part when Ricardo Reis is being interrogated by a police officer. Why is he being interrogated? no reason. they are skeptical of him because he is a writer. Ah, these writers.
She wants to mention all the Palestinian writers that the Mossad has assassinated - but stays quiet. She knows her role.
By the time she boarded her flight to Berlin – she wanted nothing more than to sleep. Her mind was elsewhere – already nervous about her re-entry in five days. If they deny me entry, I will go to Beirut, or maybe Amman – or Cairo…or…and on her mind wanders, anticipating her return home.
