For one Gazan, there is ‘no hope’
Posted: Monday, March 10, 2008 1:58 PM
Filed Under:
Tel Aviv, Israel
By Karl Bostic, NBC News Producer
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Last week, Gaza was the site of some of the fiercest fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinians in years. Israel ground forces, tanks and helicopters invaded the territory in an attempt to put a halt to the onslaught of rockets being launched from Gaza in to Israel. The clashes resulted in a deadly toll – more than 120 Palestinians were killed in the offensive, and it’s estimated that at least half of the casualties were civilians.
But what really seems to be taking a toll on the people of Gaza is the gradual erosion of daily life. Since the militant group Hamas seized control last June, Israel has imposed restrictions on the flow of people and goods in and out of Gaza which have essentially crippled the economy. Last week a coalition of human-rights groups released a report stating that Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip has created the worst humanitarian crisis since its occupation began in 1967.
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| Karl Bostic / NBC News |
| Ismael Terawi with some of his 12 children outside his home in Gaza. |
While reporting from Gaza on the Israeli incursion, we decided to visit the family of Ismael Terawi, a man we profiled two years ago during the election campaign for the Palestinian Authority, to see how he and his family were doing with the new restrictions. It wasn’t a pretty picture.
‘Worse than before’
When we first interviewed him two years ago, Terawi was optimistic that the quality of life would improve under a Hamas government.
Terawi lives with his wife and 12 children in three small rooms, under a corrugated roof, in squalid conditions. For him, nothing had ever changed for the better during 10 years that Gaza was controlled by the Fatah organization that was run by Yasser Arafat and his loyalists, so Hamas seemed to offer some semblance of hope. At the time his small children were proudly wearing the green Hamas scarves and hats, and waving the Hamas colors in the alley.
Terawi recognized us instantly when we came to his home last week as he nervously smoked a cigarette outside. We stood outside his door, and it was clear he was uncertain whether to invite us in. The last time we visited him, we were ushered in, allowed to film, and afterwards had tea, as we continued to talk.
This time, he had no tea to offer because he couldn’t afford any. While some of his children gathered around, I asked him questions about whether his quality of life had improved under Hamas rule.
"I am frustrated, I didn’t know it would be like this," said Terawi. "I thought things would be better, that I would have work, a better life. It's the opposite. Today is worse than before." He told us he wakes up every day angry and depressed.
Terawi has no job, he has not worked full time since 2000, when he was permitted to enter Israel to do construction work. Since then his family has relied exclusively on aid from the U.N. relief agency, which provides monthly coupons to buy food. He makes up the difference by asking neighbors for food. The last time he received a cash subsidy from Hamas was for $100 about two months earlier.
During our visit, he avoided questions about how he was feeding his family. Only when he had shooed his children away, did he admit that he had not yet told his children there would be no food for the day. Opening his refrigerator, we could see it was empty except for some pieces of bread and some herbs.
The rooms were shrouded in darkness and were strangely quiet. No power for today. Still his wife washed the dishes in darkness. However, washing the dishes may not help much since there is no longer any chlorine in Gaza and the water is contaminated.
Terawi explained that the children frequently do their homework by candlelight. But that presents another problem since Terawi said he can’t always afford to buy candles – so sometimes there is no light.
Standing inside the house was almost unbearable because of the lack of hygiene.
As harsh as life had been for Terawi during our last visit two years ago, I was shocked at the downward spiral his family's life had taken.
Not alone
According to the officials and analysts we spoke with in Gaza, Terawi’s family is only a snapshot of a broader picture.
John Ging, the director of U.N. operations for refugees in Gaza put it bluntly: "Almost everybody here is dependent on aid – 1.1 million people are depending on handouts of food from the U.N. and the economy has completely collapsed."
Echoing that sentiment, Dr. Eyad Sarraj, head of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, cited the numbing statistics which have actually worsened. "Gaza has declined economically into a state in which 80 percent of the population lives under the poverty line, which is less than $2.00 a day, over 70 percent of the population lives on charity food from UNRWA," said Sarraj referring to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East.
Sarraj explained how the economy has ceased to function. "There is no factory functioning today in Gaza, no workshops either. The prices in the shops are multiplying by the day because the amount of commodities that Gaza is allowed to bring in from Israel [are] limited now from 3,000 or so [items] to just 20 items. So this is the situation in Gaza. In addition to the suffocation, the people are not able at all to move outside Gaza, in or out of Gaza."
Terawi avoided blaming Hamas for his family’s deteriorating living conditions but said, "If Hamas will negotiate with Israel it will be a solution, but to keep life like this, it will be no result." He was also scornful of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's efforts. "Abu Mazen is doing nothing but staying in Ramallah," said Terawi referring to the Palestinian leader by his nickname.
I asked Terawi what he was telling his children to give them hope. He simply replied, "I have no hope for myself in this life, so how am I going to talk to children about hope."
