Hi Everyone,
I wanted to share some of the things that are happening here in Jerusalem....
So I live in an Arab/Palestinian village Jerusalem, and I have a very unique perspective of what's going on here. I suspect something big is going on behind the scenes... something that the outside world would never know about or hear about in the news, just because it's a part of everyday life here and not news worthy at all, yet I feel these things are leading the world into the future, or at least what the elite want the future to be. So I'm gonna mention a few of these things, and share certain parts of everyday life here and see what y'all think.
Most people here in Jerusalem use the bus or the new electric train to get around. It took Israel about 5 years to build the train system, which allows people to travel through the city of Jerusalem quite easily. For those of you who dont know, Jews and Arab have separate buses and separate routes. Arabs can ride the Jewish buses, and do, but it can be a very uncomfortable ride as the buses are usually filled with Israeli soldiers carrying huge machine guns on their bodies..... ANyway, the new train system has a route that mixes Jewish and Arab neighborhoods and the passengers on the train is very mixed, which I found to be surprising and wondered why a nation who spends so much money to keep people separated would do this. One example of how Israeli intentionally separates Jews from Arabs would be the government and municipal offices: There are separate offices for Arabs and Jews, for everything, and the Jews have nice big buildings, located conveniently in town, have limited security (just the usual metal detector and bag checks) and have indoor waiting rooms, where as the Arabs have to wait outside for some of the government offices, even in the rain , cold or extreme heat, sometimes waiting for an entire day only to be turned away. The average waiting time for a Jew is about 15 minutes to a half an hour.... Anyway the new train system connects both Jewsih and Arab villages and a very mixed crowd depends upon it's transportation. One reason so many people depend upon the public transportation is because they have made it so cars cant go on certain major roads, like Jaffa st. the main road in the center of town... so people are forced into using public transportation... I have been watching them bring this plan in for about 5 years, building the train system etc... I always felt something weird about it but couldnt put my finger on it....
But now I know exactly what was behind it all and I cant believe how blind people are to whats going on. Check this out : At first the new train was free for everyone, because they couldnt figure out a way for people to pay, apparently it was too difficult for people getting on and off the trains to collect money and give out change etc.... then they came up with a way for people to pay without the hassle of so many people all trying to exchange money to get on the train... it's a card, a reusable electronic prepaid card. You put money onto it and then use it to get on the train, (and now the bus as well) sounds ok.... until the next bit of information comes out about the card. You have to use your national identification to get one of these cards , the card has your picture on it and a chip of some sort used for tracking and money transfer, so now the government knows where everyone is going... but here's the sad part, the kids, the media brain washed kids, could not wait to get their card because it looks a little like a credit card, and it has their picture on it so they feel cool and grown up with grown up privileges Also... all the kids only have to pay half price, but only if they use the card, if they use cash they have to pay full price. Right now everyone is using these cards for the train and the bus and in the not so far off future money will not be accepted on public transportation, which were almost forced into using, It is a process that they are implementing and people are lined up to get their cards... The cards are given for free, little booths with computers and other electronic equipment are set up on Jaffa st where people go and hand over their Identification, fill out and sign a form/contract, have their picture taken and are given the card right there on the spot, in the street. So now the government can track most of the peoples movements... better not step outta line!!!!
P/S
Did I mention how about 2 years ago everyone with National Identification had to get their finger print taken electronically and now when signing into certain government offices, like the unemployment office for example, you must do so through an electronic scan of your fingerprint. If stopped at a check point or by the police for any reason, they now have these small computer machines that fold up into briefcases, used to electronically fingerprint people to be sure they are carrying the right Identification... an entire file is attached to the fingerprint and ID. I know because I've gotten stopped and been checked, at one point on a regular basis, and have quite an interesting file...lol.