My first impressions of Gaza
After a harrowing experience at the checkpoint where I was verbally abused by several Israeli officers, I finally made it into Gaza. I find it ridiculous that I had to beg the Israeli soldiers to let me in to an area that their Supreme Court time and time again has claimed is independent unoccupied foreign land.
The people I have met here over the last two days have been some of the kindest and friendliest people I have ever met. They are smiling and laughing and will open their home to you and offer you their last piece of bread. After all that they have suffered, it is incredible to see that they have remained so calm and cheerful. The most ironic thing is that there is the most peaceful atmosphere here in the streets. And finally I feel like I am back in the Middle East, a sensation that is impossible to feel in Israel where the entire landscape is dotted with strip malls and MacDonald’s.
The people are facing many problems here, food and medicine not being the major issues- they are arriving. There is a massive shortage of diesel, so not only are people having to use cooking oil to power their cars, many have resorted to horse/donkey and carriage, though the animals are incredibly undernourished and look as if they will collapse and any moment. During the day sometimes there are electricity cuts, and though most buildings have generators, they run on diesel so cannot be used often. There is also a major scarcity of gas for cooking- people are not using ovens and most are trying to use the stove sparingly, and some have resorted to wood fires. As a result of this and the current cold spell in the region, the buildings, which are mostly not equipped with heating systems, are absolutely freezing.
With the money I raised there are several ways that I plan to try to help some families here. Many lost their homes and with them, all of their belongings- so I will give the poorest of families stipends to buy clothing for their children, school books, etc. Other families that are in a dire situation need money to buy parts to fix generators, pay for the bus for their children to go to school, etc. With the help of the human rights organization that I am working with here I will identify the families that are in the worst situation and will give them stipends to buy the items that they need the most. With less than $200 I can help a family create a new home to replace the one they lost, re-clothe their children and provide for their necessities.
The hardest thing for me to be able to relate to is the lack of ability for these people to travel more than 41 km (aprox the length of the strip). The youngest generation have never left Gaza, the young adults have old childhood memories of once seeing Jerusalem, and since 2006 no one has been able to leave. I cannot even begin to imagine what it feels like to have no ability to move, to be stuck in one place, not because of any lack of resources or desire to travel, but because one is living in a prison that is not the result of any crime that one committed.
