14

Airport

Clouds were absent at that hour. The sun took its place, alone, amid the sky of that tiny country. It resembled a big sesame seed. Blood-red dominated the information screens for departing and arriving flights. All flights had been cancelled for the next twenty-four hours. Most understood that, because the country was witnessing an unspecified danger. Therefore, unity in the ranks and the house was necessary. This is what many had said, and what the media had been trying to relay since early morning. But a few travelers were furious about these measures and could not understand the need for them. Nor did they understand the correlation between the strike of the Palestinians, or their disappearance, as some said, and halting all air traffic. People appeared lost in the airport, which was usually a place of utmost order and control.

A traveler who had not acclimated to the country, even after living in it for five years, and who was sick of the strange logic of things, said, “What is odd about Arabs not showing up for work or going on strike? They don’t work at the airport anyway, so why would air traffic be affected by their presence or absence?”

He yelled at the woman standing behind the information desk.

“Why should I care if the Arabs didn’t show up to work, or if they have disappeared? Let them go to hell all together. Why should we give a fuck?”

The Frenchman stopped yelling and waited for an answer, but she just raised her eyebrows:

“I’m sorry. I don’t have any further information.”

“Why do they delay travel and what is this strike? Why would they go on strike? If they don’t like it here, they can go to Arab countries. They have more than twenty of them.”

The woman shook her head again and smiled. The cranky Frenchman stood there, shaking his head too, and then snarled and followed that with a deep sigh. The waiting went on. Many lost any hope of the travel ban being lifted. It appeared that it would go on for more than twenty-four hours. So, they left the airport and returned to where they had come from. Herds of humans, all walking in one direction.