Gaza: Witnessing the damage

28 January 2009

Elena Qleibo works in the Gaza Strip as a Food Security and Livelihood Officer for Oxfam. She talks about her work in the Strip, as Oxfam starts an emergency response to reach thousands of families who were unable to get access to humanitarian aid during in the past three weeks.

When I visited the north of Gaza to plan for work we can do with communities there I saw for myself the extent of the damage. There were non-exploded bombs in Jabalia, agricultural lands were completely devastated. In some places, the roads are so damaged it is impossible to move about by car.

And sewage wastewater is still flowing down the streets.

Some 35,000 chickens were killed during the bombardment and the price of eggs has already gone up. Before the war, a kilo of eggs used to sell for 2.40 Euros (£2.20), now in some places people pay up to 5 euros (£4.60), yet more reason why our work is needed.

But the worst thing I saw was just outside of Beit Lahia (North East of Gaza Strip) in the area of Atta Abed Rabo. I could not recognise Beit Lahia! Entire neighbourhoods have disappeared. In place of houses and street there is nothing. It's like looking at fields of ruins. I cannot imagine how long it will take to rebuild. How much money will be needed.

The people of Atta Abed Rabo have suddenly lost everything. This community is composed of original residents of Gaza, who were here before the influx of refugees in 1948. They were the middle class and now even they are badly affected. I met a family who lost their house and the taxi cars that constituted their only source of income. When I met them they were sitting in front in the rubble where their house used to be, preparing tea on a small burner. They are not used to receiving aid, as they were among those donating to charities like Dr. Risek's. They don't understand what has happened, they are still in shock.

Relieved to be working
The food distribution is going well. So far, we have reached 2,100 families in the past three days. Our partner Maan Development Center is very active in co-ordinating with food wholesalers, the packing of the goods and organising with the local committees helping us with the distribution.

It is so important to have a strong local partner in such an operation and Maan is implementing this project with much commitment. Fadi, whom I have known for years, is the Director for Maan's office in Gaza. He's been travelling with me, visiting communities and families who are part of our project. However tiring the work is, he is always willing to do more to help more people.

We still have another 1,150 parcels of tinned goods and other items that don't need cooking to deliver next week. By then, more than 22,000 people will have benefited from the project.

My colleague Yasser has been organising water tankers to distribute water across North Gaza and Gaza City in the last few days. Since 17 January, Oxfam and CMWU (Coastal Municipalities Water Utility) have distributed drinking water to over 150,000 people. They visit UN shelters, hospitals and also do house to house water distribution. The water and wastewater network has been severely damaged by shelling and bombing and hundreds of thousands of people have no access to running water, so CMWU directs us to the areas that are most in need.

My colleagues and I are relieved to be working now, going out and about with distributions, but there is so much to be done, so much devastation.

It will be a long recovery and we are doing what we can here. But the needs are enormous so that full and complete humanitarian access must be granted to the outside world in order to give the 1.5 million Gazans more than just a glimmer of hope.