omer_40-41r.qxp_Gaza on the Ground 2/2/22 5:46 PM Page 40
Gaza on the Ground
No Way for Gazans to Keep Warm or Dry
PHOTO BY MAHMUD HAMS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
By Mohammed Omer
Palestinian UNRWA school pupils cross a flooded street in the heavy rain in Gaza City, on Jan. 15, 2022. RASHA SAWALHA warms her son’s hands, holding them between her own, in the bitter cold. The moment she releases them, the cold beckons sharply, invading his small fingers in seconds. She touches his hands. His fingers are freezing again. Toes fair no better. Keeping her eight family members warm in Gaza, where electricity is often cut, and fuel for heat and cooking is scarce, is a cold reality she faces and often can’t overcome. Rotating between children, using her body’s warmth, she attempts to comfort and provide a shield against the freezing temperature. She dreams of a plastic tarp, something large enough to enshroud their makeshift hovel and prevent the drip-drip-drip of winter rains on the blankets the family uses as they sleep. “I put on some logs of wood for cooking and to try to keep the room warm,” she explains, quiet and weary. Her husband’s income, like many in the besieged Strip, is gone. He cannot afford even a tarp to try to seal the zinc metal roof. When the winter rains come, Sawalha rushes about the room, distributing pans and dishes to collect the seeping rainwater. It’s a tiresome
Award‐winning journalist Mohammed Omer reports regularly on the Gaza Strip. 40
game, one exacerbated by the possibility of the roof blowing off or falling in during a rainstorm.
AFTER THE BOMBING The Gaza Strip is home to approximately 2.1 million people, the majority of whom are under the age of 30. The size of Manhattan Island in New York City, Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in the world with an average of 5,800 individuals per square kilometer. The Gaza Strip has been under military occupation since 1967, and under complete military blockade (air, land and sea) since 2007. Life wasn’t always this difficult. Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip in May 2021 destroyed infrastructure, businesses and hundreds of homes, forcing many families like the Sawalhas into temporary shelters made up of scavenged materials. Building materials are hard to come by because most are stopped at the border and prevented from entering. What is allowed through by Israeli officials is often too expensive. The price of plastic in Gaza can vary from 1 NIS to 15 NIS (30 cents to $4.70), depending upon its quality. Gaza’s families living below the poverty line, many employed by the government, have not received their wages from the Palestinian Authority,
WASHINGTON REPORT ON MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS
MARCH/APRIL 2022
