Anamaria’s Journal: Not Welcome Anymore

I arrived at the airport 4 hours before take off. I was through check in after just one hour and no problems. But when I went through passport control, the woman there looked at the computer screen and went away with my passport. She came back a few minutes later with 2 other women and asked me to follow them.

A man joined them and asked me where I have been, and what I have been doing. I answered the usual, and they asked no more. Then I was taken to a room, where I had to place my baggage on a table. Then they told me that they thought there was a bomb in it. Now they had control over everything in my bags, and also over my body. There were 7 people in the room to perform this action.

I was taken into a small dressing room, where one of the women examined my body, first with her hands, close and unpleasant, then with an instrument. It was beeping at my chest because of some metal in my bra. So I lifted up my shirt and bra to the shoulders and rolled down my pants and underwear. And I yelled, “Are you happy now? Do you like me? Are you satisfied? Enjoy it now, because I won’t do it again!” They seemed sheepish, but they searched my trousers and finished that part.

When I came out again they looked through all of my baggage. I had some maps and information from the UN and the booklet “Truth Against Truth, A Completely Different Look at the Israeli-Palestine Conflict.” One of the female police read some of it. Then they wanted to search my backpack without me watching, but I refused to leave and told them that I did not trust them with my things.

One of the men got really angry and shouted that if I did not cooperate they would have the police arrest me, put me in prison, hold me back so I would not catch the flight etc. I said, “Good. I don’t care, because I love to be here. Now I am your problem.” Once more the man was shouting all the same stuff and said that I could stay there until I was ready. I waited a half hour and then they came back to look through everything again.

I was escorted to the plane few minutes before take off. But not before one of the women said that I was not welcome in Israel any more.

Anamaria