[HCCN] Fwd: A few days in Gaza

[Judith Robbins]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: carolyn <ccdogmail at yahoo.com>
>
>
> from Ridgely
>
> --- On Sat, 8/14/10, Ridgely Fuller <rpfuller18 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> From: rpfuller18 at hotmail.com
> To: rpfuller18 at hotmail.com
> Subject: A few days in Gaza
> Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 09:06:30 +0000
>
> Dear Folks,
> The first days have been filled with so much..a sprinkling of  
> meetings, two amazing evenings spent with Palestinian families who  
> invited us to join their iftar (the evening meal which breaks the  
> 12 hour Ramadan fast) and first trip outside of Gaza City to Beit  
> Hanoun encompassing about 40,000 mostly farmers in the Northeastern  
> corner of Gaza.
> A most heartfelt thanks for the many responses to my first email  
> and the questions and concerns you offered.  I hope my response to  
> the question re what are the current issues facing Gaza will emerge  
> from my emails..keep me on track if I wander too much...
>
> First question: what about  housing in Gaza?..we  know over 4000  
> homes were completely destroyed and 15,000 partially destroyed  
> during the Israeli attack in 2008-2009 and that no cement has been  
> allowed in to Gaza for rebuilding on any scale.So far, and only so  
> far, as we have taken just one trip outside of Gaza City,one  
> clearly notices that much of the rubble from the bombing on the way  
> to and in Gaza City itself  has been removed.Children earn money  
> picking through the rubble and bringing chunks to back yard  
> recyclers where the scraps are crushed and made into new cement  
> blocks..these cement blocks have been used to patch walls of  
> partially destroyed homes and municipal buildings: these patches,  
> however, are considered very temporary with a life of only 3-4 years.
>
> Our apartment is located in an upscale and quiet part of Gaza  
> City..the quiet ( and general cleanliness especially compared to  
> Cairo) throughout most of the city continues to amaze me!. The  
> apartment is spacious but dependent on electrical generators about  
> 12 hours a day; the shocks we get opening the refrigerator have  
> become a useful brake on impulse snacking.  I was not aware  how  
> privileged we are to have a generator until we drove to our   
> Palestinian dinner last night on the north side of Gaza City..the  
> City was  blacked out excepting a sprinkle of apartments here and  
> there and lights in some small local stores. A hard way to  
> celebrate a very hot Ramadan..this electricity shortage is a  
> tremendous problem for hospitals where we have been told the  
> neonatal and operating facilities constantly deteriorate as they  
> switch from public power to generators.The source of the electrical  
> shortage is in dispute depending on one's political leanings..most  
> say Israel is not providing sufficient fuel ( international  
> organizations UN,Red Cross etc tend to agree with this) but those  
> opposed to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in power in the West Bank  
> through which Israel sells fuel and some electrical power, say the  
> PA is trying to wring more money out of the Gaza population, and  
> those against Hamas, in power in Gaza, say Hamas is withholding  
> fuel. It is this kind of wide divergence of opinion that makes it  
> very hard to get a real sense of grounding here.I am  very aware of  
> the constant need to double check all  information instead of  
> simply believing what 'feels'right.
>
> The first family invitation was offered by a family who has  
> frequently opened their home to visitors for months at a time..the  
> five children(22-16yo) are all students here, and in Germany ( no  
> coming home for school vacations!)the mother is a nurse and father  
> a building manager. Shahd is a lovely 18 yo wears skinny clothes at  
> home, studies and speaks English, is an  artist and a blogger.I  
> encourage you to go to her site for a personal story: Palestine  
> from my eyes. at blogspot.com.Perhaps Shahd shared on her blog her  
> story of a close family living with them during the Israeli attack  
> and the father being killed as he ventured out to the market;  
> Shahd's eyes still fill with tears at the memory of the ensuing  
> phone call.
>
> The second family dinner was with the family of a student our  
> accompanying Scottish professor helped get into school in  
> Scotland.Keith has never actually met the student but the student  
> calls him daily and his family insisted we come for a visit.The  
> ride over was  in an incredibly rickety private car  which the  
> owner said arrived via  the tunnels several months ago at a coast  
> of $7000 dollars. True to form as we emerged from the most  
> incredible labyrinth of narrow dark streets the car broke down in  
> the middle of a busy intersection..I was surprised when  two  
> policemen ran over  and directed traffic as the driver jiggled a  
> few wires to get us moving again.He complains of poor quality  
> Egyptian fuel. Our destination was again in a very crowded  
> neighborhood where paved roads give way to sandy streets; but once  
> inside and through the dark hall the airy house was filled with  
> generated light, elaborate window treatments,pillars, detailed  
> stone work, tile and ceiling paintings.Dozens of members of the  
> students' family (11 siblings) and close friends..mainly men  
> welcomed us.All appeared to be busy either as students or  
> underemployed(eg data entry with a BA in business management)  and  
> all so easily differentiating the  American people  from the US  
> government.The men were eager to ask me questions about my favorite  
> basketball and football (soccer) teams and players; knew way more  
> about the LA Lakers and world soccer...we are invited back next  
> week and will certainly go!
>
>   A morning trip to Beit Hanoun was motivated by my interest in  
> Palestinian nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation. During  
> my time in the West Bank I was able to meet with local popular  
> committees as well as Israeli protesters but the resistance  
> challenges here are very different from the daily military  
> incursions,  ongoing Palestinian land confiscation by Israeli  
> settlers, house demolitions and  Wall construction in the West Bank  
> and East Jerusalem . In the West Bank the weekly demonstrations are  
> met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and occasional live fire.Here  
> live fire to nonviolent demonstrations is reported to be the sole  
> response.
>   Contacts led me to Beit Hanoun where we met Saber who lead the  
> Local Initiative, what he says is the only association in this very  
> underserved and exposed are s it borders Israel both on the north  
> and the east. The Initiative chiefly focuses on youth development:  
> providing young people  with volunteer opportunities, and  
> experience in working for and with their community. Saber says Beit  
> Hanoun used to be the bread basket of Gaza exporting citrus fruit  
> until the Israeli attack in 2008 during which the Israeli army  
> destroyed all  the water wells, ripped up the land and  many of the  
> homes.
>
> Background: In July 2008, 5 months before the 23 day attack, the  
> Israeli military announced an official policy of  expanding the  
> 'Buffer Zone' by closing off   300' meters next to the actual  
> border fence to any Palestinian..in documented fact Palestinians  
> within 1000 meters of the border have been shot ..so Beit Hanoun  
> farming activity has ceased and the  town market closed as no  
> produce was available.  In all of Gaza this 'Buffer Zone' policy  
> has meant that effectively 30% of Gaza, already one of the most  
> densely populated areas in the world, is completely off limits to  
> Palestinians. All sources agree that this effectively expropriated  
> land is the most fertile in Gaza.
>
>    The Local Initiative also documents Israeli firings and  
> incursions and holds weekly demonstrations against the Buffer Zone  
> by peacefully walking into it and planting with the farmers.  
> Sometimes these walks have been to retrieve bodies of farmers and  
> stone gatherers shot in the  Zone.These  marches can be quite  
> dangerous; some protesters have been wounded including a friend who  
> was on my first trip but remained in Gaza for the year.The Local  
> Initiative also has a psychosocial team working with children so  
> next week we will return to participate/witness the Tuesday  
> demonstration and for me to train the team and teen volunteers in  
> the 'play, routine  used with children. We will bring cases of  
> water for Saber's center.
>
> So much more to write about but this is already too long...
> take care,
> Ridgely
>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mainetalk.org/pipermail/hccn_mainetalk.org/attachments/20100815/17eb0500/attachment.htm>