One year on in Gaza; treating, planting, speaking out

14 August 2008

Oxfam's Sarah-Eve Hammond reports from Gaza

Looking back at how intense the last two summers were on the political front in the Gaza Strip, 2008 feels much calmer. It's true, talks about a possible Israeli incursion in the Strip are causing lots of stress to the population. On the other hand, the recently agreed truce between Hamas and Israel is holding despite violations on both sides and has given renewed hope of a normal life to many.

Since Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip a year ago and the decision by the government of Israel to blockade 1.5 million inhabitants in the tiny territory, normality is a word that has undergone several redefinitions. What is normality anyway? Is it pre-June 2007 living standards? Being able to find cooking gas to cook dinner or rummaging through the rubbish to find trash to burn?

"Do more with less" seems to be the agreed motto. When Oxfam International sat down with four of its partners in Gaza to understand how their work had been affected by more than 12 months of blockade, their commitment to go on with the work emerged immediately. They wish to see the crossings open and the resumption of a normal life. Their perseverance and resilience is a lesson.

Treating patients in Gaza
Abdel Hadi Abu Kussa has been working with Oxfam partner the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) since its foundation in 1979 to supplement the decayed and inadequate health infrastructure caused by years of Israeli military occupation. Over the years he has witnessed how difficult the situation has become for the population of Gaza and especially since the beginning of the blockade.

"With an increase in poverty and the lack of funding for government health activities, people come to us for their medical care", says Abu Kussa. "We've always charged very low fees for the services we provide and now all drugs are available for 2 NIS (£0.30) and, honestly, we give most of it away for free."

With unemployment reaching almost 40 per cent in the Gaza Strip and 50 per cent of households living under the poverty line, very little money on the household budget is left for healthcare and in some cases for food. "Another worrying trend is the increasing number of anaemic pregnant women and children in Gaza," Abu Kussa explains. "We estimate that 70 per cent of the children in the communities we work with show symptoms of mild or severe anaemia."

Planting seeds
"Gazans cannot plan for anything and the ordinary people don't feel their future is in their hands anymore," says Fadi Al Hindi from Ma'an Development Center.

For this organisation, the blockade has meant that their agricultural development work has shifted to emergency relief. "We can only do what our resources are allowing us to do. More money is needed to pay for fuel and materials that are getting more expensive, if available at all, and in the end it impacts on the limited number of beneficiaries we can now assist," says Fadi.

Another partner, Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC), has also been facing serious problems importing the materials it needs to rehabilitate agricultural roads and delimit plots of land.

With little inputs available in the Gaza Strip and ever-shrinking agricultural lands due to the expansion of the buffer zone near the concrete Wall that surrounds Gaza, farmers really need all the support they can get. "PARC buys goods from local farmers to redistribute to needy families," says Ahmad Sourani, Director of External relations in Gaza. "If farmers start selling their produce at a low price, more will eventually go out of business and leave their land uncultivated. Farmers must sell at a fair price, as it is essential for our food security."

Speaking up against abuses
As he sits down for the meeting, Jaber Wishah immediately agrees to have the interview made public, despite the fact that the situation is sometimes tense for him and his teams. Jaber works for the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). "The reality of human rights abuses in Palestine needs to be told and this is what PCHR does, whoever the perpetrator is. We only seek to take care of the victims of abuses."

"Addressing the difficult situation in Gaza needs to be done through the point of view of the population and it should consider the uncertainty Gazans live in and by all means attempt to give them hope", says Jaber. "Gazans need to know that next month they'll receive their salaries; that next week the schools will be open and safe; that tomorrow a just judgment will be issued if they go to the court."

Oxfam International's partners are adamant that hopes in Gaza are still high to see the situation improve "but we need to convince politicians that the interests of the people should define politics and not the other way around", says Ahmad Sourani.