An occasion to celebrate in Gaza

This week is a busy one for us here in Gaza. It's back-to-school for the kids; it's also the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.

After a difficult summer of power and water cuts, and a lack of fuel, the kids are happy to go back to school. I'm not sure what they are most happy about: returning to their studies or seeing their friends. Even though we bought some new school items for them, our kids will have to make do with what they wore last year. I don't want them to be too spoiled and anyway, I cannot afford to renew their whole wardrobe.

This time of year has always been a costly season. However this year is more expensive than usual because of the blockade on the Gaza Strip that began over a year ago. When we went shopping to buy my children school bags, my wife and I were shocked to see that we now had to pay 50 shekels (£8) for a bag that cost 20 shekels just over a year ago.

At least our kids are not affected by the teachers' strike in public schools since they attend a UN refugee school. I'm happy and relieved about the fact that the beginning of their school year is not disturbed by the public sector strike that began a couple of days ago as a consequence of the continued political instability in Gaza. As with the Israeli blockade, it is the ordinary people who suffer most. In this case it is the schoolchildren

Yesterday, I went to one of Gaza's private schools out of curiosity to understand how the teachers' strike could impact the private school system. I met with the headmaster and asked him if he expected to get more registration requests from worried parents who would spend what little savings they have to ensure their children stay in school. . The headmaster said the requests already exceed the school's capacity. "Some 300 students want to register, but I can only accept 120," he told me.

I also took my kids to the old market in Gaza City yesterday. I like to take them there and teach them how to buy good products and how to bargain. It's a lot of fun for all of us. The kids run everywhere, ask questions and munch on whatever I agree to buy. They make me laugh every time. I thought the market would be crowded with loads of people shopping for Ramadan. But surprisingly, I did not see many people. Prices are high which affects families' purchasing power.

Frankly, I don't think anything has changed for the better since last Ramadan, when we were nearly three months into the blockade. The fragile truce with Israel that has been in place since this past June has stopped much of the violence, and some goods and fuel have started trickling in. But 15 months of being almost completely sealed off has had a serious toll on our lives here. Last year if you wanted to buy cheese you had three or four different kinds, but now there is only one or two. Prices of sweets are also higher. The truce just hasn't yet had the positive impact we were hoping for. On top of the high prices and limited fuel, the movement of people in and out of the Strip is limited to a strict minimum.

You know, Ramadan is all about being social. When somebody invites you for Iftar (break of the fast at sunset) you can expect that the whole family and friends will be attending. It is supposed to be a big event for sharing a sumptuous meal of meat and rice. So you can imagine how difficult and expensive it would be to have enough meat to feed a hundred people or more. It's a pity, really, because I really like the kind of food we have for Ramadan.

Despite the scaled back Ramadan Iftars, I felt a surge of joy when I saw the two boats from the Free Gaza movement floating in the Mediterranean just off our shores here. The peace activists on board demonstrating against the blockade gave us all here a glimmer of hope to know that there are people on the outside who care about the hard times we are facing.

Now this was an occasion to celebrate.

I could see the two ships from my window. The BBC reported that one of the boats accompanied fishing boats and went the farthest out on the sea in 40 years when Israel first put restrictions on sea access. I saw a fish they caught and I could not believe the size of it. I have never seen a fish that big from the sea. Can you imagine the other fish the fisherman could catch and the number of people they could feed with them if they were allowed to go that far into the sea everyday?

Finally, our family received some really good news. Following eight months of unsuccessful attempts to leave the Gaza Strip to reach his studies in Belgium, our nephew succeeded in obtaining the Government of Israel's authorisation to leave. He called us from Belgium two days ago. We are so proud, so happy for him. The whole family stood behind him during difficult times and encouraged him to persevere.

This is our lesson. We should never give up hope.