Gaza this morning

Gaza this morning –19th of August 2011-8am
8am
Shattered glass , destroyed a big building (city library under construction) close to Rosy women beauty center, where I can see many broken windows, and people cleaning the rubble and the shattered glass, while I was on my way to check on the red crescent society, which is close to Arafat police headquarters building. It was not hit, as I have heard in the local radio news last night. I have received a phone call from a friend in the north (Beit Hanoun and Jabalia); he says there is continuous (artillery shelling) in the north and east of Gaza.
I do not know what is next! Is it an alarming attack? Is it a start of large scale operation against Gaza? I cannot predict or analyze but it is pretty obvious that the Israeli government intends to divert internal turmoil into Gaza civilians under the immoral pretense of security, they hit targets and terrify civilians, my main concern now is how to coordinate with other health providers, the emergency health services, while we lack basic medications and supplies in most of the health facilities
I could not sleep last night so many people in the city could not, I was thinking Israel will never be secure or safe by hitting Gaza or building more settlements or confiscate more land. Our Palestinian cause is a noble cause that is based on justice and rights as guaranteed by so many UN resolutions, unless the world really has been changed into a big jungle, where the most powerful controls, as the world seems so now. But this is not the end of the battle towards peaceful just world, the continued movements against injustice in many Arab countries will make the change, and inside Israel itself, too.
ps
Theresa I have mentiones in my previous release
Theresa, a master student in Public Health, has finished gathering data to implement family planning program. She will write a recommendation for the Red Crescent Society on how to implement joint husband-wife counseling.
.

Gaza under Israeli military attack

Gaza -August 18th -1am
Dear Freinds
I am ok.
They have started shelling Gaza City and different parts of the Gaza Strip. The first attack was so close to my building, the F16 hit Almuntada; they have also attacked the north of the city. Already 6 people have been injured and one killed(6 were killed few hours earlier on ). I can hear and see the emergency vehicles on their way to the site of the shelling. My computer is not working so I am using Theresa’s laptop - bad timing. It is sad to see the families below the building in panicking and running outside of the sea resort. The second shelling was against the police building (Arafat police headquarters), so close to the Red Crescent building. The operation is expected to be accelerated and the UN has evacuated its employees. I am trying to calm down while receiving many calls from friends and family checking on me. I have asked Theresa to leave to the west bank tomorrow; she was due to leave on Sunday. I am relieved it is the end of her visit, and she has accomplished her practicum.
Netanyahu exports the internal Israeli political turmoil to an external situation.

With love and solidarity
Mona

Bello Ciao- The Vic I Know

Bello Chio- the Vic i know -1975-2011


With deep sadness in my heart I write. I am sad and shocked that Vik has been taken from our world so soon and so tragically. I am appalled that such ignorant brutality and violence still exists in Palestinian society.
Vik you were dedicated, full of humanity, and fun. Your love for life, music and laughter meant that your presence always created a nice atmosphere, for our youth and children in different occasions. You shared our lives in Gaza for more than 2 years, you danced Dabbka , you would always reach out and shake hands with little boys and girls in the streets, you would play football with them. You were there in our funerals as well as our weddings. and more than that your daily protesting as member of the ISM alongside with Palestinians, on the borders against the buffer zone that was created by Israel, where Farmers were unable reach their land ,
Viktor you were always there with the ISM and Palestinian people, in peaceful protests against the occupation. Calling for justice, peace and a free Palestine,
I have known Viktor for more than 2 years. When he arrived to Gaza with the free Gaza movement Boats in August 2008, and since has stayed in Gaza during the siege and the ongoing different atrocities by the Israeli occupation. He was a radical real revolutionist comrade, on another occasion we met at al Aqsa hospital in the middle camps when Bianca, a member of the ISM, was shot by the Israelis in another peaceful protest against the buffer zone, he was so angry and showed his anger in a very open way. An angry young man, with smiling, beautiful, and peaceful eyes.
In my apartment in Gaza city, we had a light dinner with friends, and he was so happy and sang the nice famous Italian song Bella Ciao he translated it ,I felt empowered and inspired by him. We all sang it together.
Vik (VITTORI ) made thousands of children, youth and men happy , able to continue and steadfast against the occupation and siege , he will always be remembered by us in Palestine , he had a good time with us in Gaza, he was always smiling and happy, and above all worked according to his beliefs.
As a mother I am at loss for words. My thoughts and prayers go to his family.
My comrade, friend, and brother you will always be in my heart.

From Gaza with love
Mona Elfarra

i will reply in time

hello Dear freinds, readers,comrades brothers , sisters and all of you who are following my blog
thanks for responding to my writing, unfortunetly i have not read it , till this morning (it is completely technical error), for sure i will respond to all , but at the moment, iam ill with this silly allergic bronchitis , it makes me feel imprisoned , with all those directions of bed rest , AB, diffrent home remedies, and the cough is so strong, persistent and annoying .
please give me some time to heal , as iam on sick leave , and for somebody who is up and about like me , it is simply killing to be in bed !
love
Mona

Happy International Women's Day

The 100 hundred year anniversary comes this year, with the Motto of the duty of men and women, to work to end the violence against women and girls of the world. While Palestinian women still face all sorts of violence as the Israeli occupation continues to harass both men and women in Palestine, it is the women who bear the brunt of it. Women are facing increasing rules inside the family and the society as men’s mass unemployment in Gaza causes their proud role in the family to deteriorate. The burden is heavier when the husband is absent, a political prisoner inside Israeli jails or killed by the continuous military attacks. Besides the violence of the occupation, the harassment and constraints imposed by a very traditional society treat her as an unequal person, depriving her of her chances to be a free individual who can decide, achieve and contribute to the progress of the society and the world.
Despite this traditional and political backdrop, many women managed to get educated and find work, fighting daily for their rights. Education has played a great role, helping our women to recognize their rights and work to achieve them. This is no more evident than for those Palestinian women who have got jobs and achieved to some extent economic independence and above all to be better individuals for their own benefit and the society.
The different programmes run by Palestinian NGOS target women in a holistic approach, focusing on health, health education, legal aid, sports, nutrition, psychological support and counseling; but above all, awareness! With education, awareness is the other step towards enlightenment,
On International Women’s Day, I send a message of solidarity, love and appreciation to the women of Egypt and Tunisia, who were hand in hand with men to achieve the great change in their country, and I will them on to continue until they achieve all their political rights, towards a democratic, just and free society.
Happy International Women’s day from Gaza – Palestine.
Mona ElFarra
From Gaza With Love

be part of the change you want to make in the world

Gaza again and again

Back to Gaza, Back to Walking
22-1-2011

Walking during the early hours of the morning this Friday, the town
has not awoken yet, but a few children are playing on the side of the
road. Some are young girls, smiling, who invite me to join them to
play hopscotch. These are girls that are happy playing with little
boys, yet soon in a few years they will be forced to be covered.
Mixing with boys is one of the great, great taboos. Whether it is
because of tradition or religion, it does not matter.

Quite simply, they cannot practice their right to choose what to wear-
all are asked to surrender to the rules of the tribe, like herds of
sheep. Voices of difference or dissent are asked to shut up when the
current is running so strongly in the other direction.
I was thinking deeply of the years when the grandmothers of these
children walked to schools uncovered, during the Sixties and the
secular era of Nasser- how Gaza has changed.

All of a sudden I could hear and see two Israeli gunboats on the
horizon, just like two ugly protruding eyes on a huge face. It
reminded me of Orwell’s 1984, where Big Brother controls and watches
over you at all times.

What do we expect next as Palestinian people? I thought deeply about
this. Where is the outlet, the solution to this big dilemma?
Politicians seems to insist on a constant deadlock, and in the West
Bank, Israel proves every day that she is not a partner in peace, as
she steals more and more land and continues building new settlements.
In Gaza, Hamas rules while Israel controls our borders and continue
their daily attacks. Military attacks that are unheard and unseen by
many in this world, yet we live under this siege daily. The worst is
the constructed division between Hamas and Fatah, and the lack of
Palestinian unity. This affects ordinary peoples’ daily lives, from
the food we consume to the medicine we need. The other aspect which
people feel is the lack of any promise or inspiration on the political
horizon.

As for me, I remember my friend’s inspiring words, “When things seems
so bad, try to focus on small successes.” I thought of the work of the
Middle East Children’s Alliance(MECA), the Maia projects(water purification system for children in gaza schools ), the psycho- social
support for children, with their love for art programs, and their
chance for self expression. I am determined to continue helping and
empowering people with steadfastness. There are thousands of women
and children, courageous people who are living under such harsh
conditions, who need these programs and the love and support they
offer.

With love I send my message, with great conviction that the remedy for
Palestine is unity. Unity is the first step towards a clear strategy
to determine for ourselves what we need next for our future. I
believe strongly that this unity exists in the growing global
solidarity movement that stands with Palestinians for peace and
justice and against oppression wherever it exists, including within my
own land.

With your solidarity and support, we in Gaza will continue. It is a
long term battle, but one day we will all prevail.

Gaza in 5 hours

16th of November 2010, Gaza

Myrla and David from Medical Team International were thankfully two of the few foreigners who were allowed in to visit us in Gaza. After their 5 day stay in the West Bank they arrived through the Erez crossing in Beit Hanoun, Gaza’s Northern border checkpoint. It’s the only civilian entry point other than through the Rafah border in Egypt, barring some very rare exceptions through the other Israeli crossings.

I started my 5 hour journey around Gaza with my special guests - nearly all guests who enter Gaza are special, they open a new window of love and solidarity, and a message so clear that you are not alone and you are not forgotten.
Our first stop was the Al Asria Medical Centre in Jabalya refugee camp before visiting the Red Crescent Society of the Gaza Strip. The guests were very impressed by the facility and our success to get the MRI FOTR Gaza. I was pleased and proud to hear their comments, it also empowered me to continue working hard to improve and promote our health facilities for the most needy of patients in Gaza.

Everyday carries a hard struggle to meet the different needs of people and not only their health needs.
The occupation and siege contributes to the deteriorating of the already dire health situation. Each day hundreds of patients referred for treatment cannot receive it due to the borders siege and their financial situation.

UNRWA school
In one of the UNRWA schools at Shatia Refugee camp, the guests could feel and see the children’s happiness that they could now drink clean soft water. It was the result of a MECA project to install 25 water purification units in Gaza schools and kindergartens over the last 2 years

Dancing with Afaq children
In the south of Gaza the guests danced to Palestinian folklore with Afaq Jadeeda children, as part of the ‘Let the Children Play and Heal’ project, a psychological support project funded by MECA.

We finished the tour by meeting the Samouni children of the Zaytoun area, where we met Adie Mormech who was teaching them. Adie is an activist with the International Solidarity Movement, Boycott Divestment and Sanctions and has worked around Action Palestine and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Manchester in England.
The scene of Adie and the kids, in the English lesson, ‘Learning on the Rubble’, was so intimate and moving.
The children were happy learning and having fun too.

The situation in Gaza is not romantic, it is so unbearable especially for us who have to live one day after the other trying hard to remain steadfast and help the community to stay intact

Gaza the old city

Just before leaving Gaza we paid a visit to the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius, the third oldest church in the world, built in the 5th century next to a mosque. The Archbishop who received us was so kind and very informative. We also visited the Omary mosque, not far away from the church, which was previously the Marnaas temple through history converted to a church and then to a mosque.

Gaza is history and civilization, the third largest city in Palestine - not only war, occupation and siege.
It has stood so proud against all the historic and environmental changes – even natural upheavals like earthquakes.
The odds have been against us.
It is my city I like despite all those odds.

Before he left, David said, ‘you deserve better life.’

Keeping Hope Alive in Gaza

Keeping Hope Alive in Gaza
7th November 2010

Dr. Mona El-Farra
Children are everywhere here in Gaza. They make up more than 60% of the entire population because the average family size is 7.2 people. Crowded towns, refugee camps and cities cram over 1.5 million people into these 360 square kilometers, making Gaza one of the densely populated areas of the world.
Between the Israeli occupation, the siege of Gaza, and the internal Palestinian divisions, children in Gaza have been, and continue to be deprived of many of their basic rights. The right to play, to live in suitable homes, to live in a safe and healthy atmosphere, and to have access to food and clean water.
In short, children in Gaza are not living in safety. They are not living with the rights we are supposed to provide them.
In Gaza we know that our situation will not improve overnight so we look to our children as the future. All efforts to support our children are extremely needed and appreciated by the community. The accumulative work of everyone who cares in the local and international communities will affect the future of the hundreds of thousands of kids who experience poverty and the threat of military attacks on a daily basis . This creates an immediate need to make life easier and tolerable through entertaining activities and relief services. I don't expect we can make quick, dramatic changes given the complexity and deterioration of the situation in Gaza. But certainly I believe the effects of these efforts will prove to be important in the future, particularly in the lives of these children and their families.
In such complicated circumstances with endless needs for children, the Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) is working hard to make life tolerable for children in Palestine. In my day-to-day life, I can see the effects of MECA's work. When I was at one of the UN schools where we implemented a water purification system, one of 15 systems we supplied so far this year, I was touched to hear the different stories and positive comments from the families, the teaching staff, and the children. We all know the importance of good clean water but many people take drinking clean water for granted. This is not the case for people who are deprived of it in Palestine, India, or countless other locations around the world. In the Gaza Strip, more than 90% of our water is not suitable for drinking.
The university scholarships project targets students and whose families would not be able to educate their children without MECA's support. I see the huge impact of the psychosocial program “Let the Children Play and Heal” that has already reached more than 110,000 children throughout all of Gaza, plus providing vital trainings to hundreds of mothers that empower them to take action to help their own families and communities. I went several times to the Zaytoun neighborhood this summer to observe “Learning on the Rubble,” a project that provided intensive educational and psychosocial support to children in a particularly impoverished and traumatized area of Gaza. None of these children can be completely healed while the occupation and siege continue but I believe our work meets the children's most urgent needs and contributes to their chances for a good future.
I feel privileged to see the successes of MECA projects and partnerships on the ground. I feel proud to be part of the team of MECA. I tell the children of Palestine more and more about MECA's work and about the committed people abroad who work hard to help the Palestinian people. I try to educate the entire community about the genuine great work in support of the Palestinian people's rights and the continuous work to expose the colonial racist nature of the Israeli occupation that is happening around the world. I understand that our freedom is not an easy task to be achieved but to be sure there are growing solidarity efforts to achieve peace and justice and MECA is an important part of them. MECA's work and the work of all the friends and solidarity activists around the world make me feel not alone and not forgotten and I convey this message everywhere in Gaza where my people live one day after another working hard to endure the most difficult situation.
Search this site:
MECA's Palestine Blog

Hello from Gaza with Love

Hello friends, supporters
Again I say I am sorry, I have been so involved with my field work, and not to mention the very many power-cuts, it really interrupted my writing and this year's summer has been so hot, it has felt endless. On the other hand I've been so lucky to have 2 great and lovely women stay with me during the summer. I organized their schedule in Gaza, they came in solidarity with us in Palestine, for me it was a very fullfilling time on both a personal and public level, it showed the true meaning of solidarity - that we are not alone and never forgotten. Norma Turner from Manchester PSC, and Wendy Foster from USA, all my love and respect to you, and to all those who believe in the Palestinian people's rights and who believe that solidarity is commitment to Palestine, where the injustice is so clear, I LOVE YOU ALL
Mona

Solidarity is the Way...

ILWU Local 10
July 21st 2010

Dear ILWU Local 10 members

I am writing to you from Gaza, to thank you for your union action in refusing to unload an Israeli ship, and to tell you a little bit about our life here. Like everyone in Gaza, I have lived through the siege and military attacks from Israel. That is why your solidarity touches me.

Huda Ghaliya (aged 12 at the time) repeatedly shouted, heartbreakingly, “Daddy, Daddy, ” while searching for the rest of her family after Israeli forces shelled the beach in northern Gaza. It was 9 June 2006, while she was on a picnic with her mother, father, brothers and sisters. The entire family was wiped out, and dozens more were injured. The casualties were brought to Al Awda hospital, where I was working. Some of my colleagues, including seasoned emergency healthworkers, could not bear to go to the child’s room. Huda kept telling me “mum and dad did not pass away, they are in another hospital”. When the TV crew arrived, the cameraman collapsed at the scene. I burst into tears.

What happened to that child, which will follow her for the rest of her life, was to see all her family members disappear on a lovely sunny morning, meant to be a joyful day. It was not the first or the last time that Palestinian children, living under the occupation and the siege of Gaza, lost family members. Many parents lost their children, and many children lost one or two parents, or siblings.

The latest assault against Gaza on December 2008, was frankly an act against humanity, in a preplanned, systematic, destructive way. Israel should be held responsible for war crimes, and the UN report by Judge Goldstone proved that these were crimes against humanity.

What followed recently on board the flotilla was another act of terrorism and yet another proof that Israel does not abide by international laws . Even though this act recalled previous war crimes against the Palestinian population in Gaza, people were shocked and in disbelief that Israel could commit this aggression against internationals in international waters. It showed again that Israel is above the law as long as the people of the world stay silent.

This makes the genuine act of the Oakland dock workers who refused to handle the "Zim Shenzhen" ship so important for us in Gaza. We were so impressed by this act of solidarity, as well as many other acts that have been done continuously to support our struggle to reach our inalienable rights, we who live under the siege and continuous hardships. We feel that the majority of the world is silent. We appreciate this sort of activity, and we feel that there is hope, that we are not alone and forgotten. One day the people who act against all types of injustice will ring the bell, and injustice will come to an end. Alone we cannot reach our goal, but with your solidarity, we will.
This act of solidarity gives us hope, together we defeated South Africa’s apartheid regime and with your support we can defeat the Israeli apartheid and occupation.

At the moment, we are running a supportive, educational, and (for them) entertaining project, for the children of the Zaytoun neighborhood. We named our project LEARNING ON THE RUBBLE. Even 18 months since the attack against Gaza, Israel does not allow essential building materials to enter Gaza. They allow ketchup and fizzy drinks into Gaza, and tell the world that there is no siege!!!! They deny entry of many essential materials, including medications (chemotherapy ) for cancer patients, and spare parts for medical equipment, as well as a suitable amount of dairy products. The list is too long to mention. Unemployment has reached 60%, and 80% of the population is living on international aid.

When I visited the site of LEARNING ON THE RUBBLE, I could see the shadow of trauma on the kids’ faces, as well as the physical scars of their bodies, either directly caused by the Israeli soldiers, or from being trapped under the rubble when the bulldozers demolished their homes. They became homeless in a matter of minutes.

Some of these children were trapped next to the dead body of a family member. I met one woman who lost her husband and son. Tearfully, she told me that her son, aged 13, slowly and agonizingly bled to death in her lap over 12 hours.

The army did not allow health workers to enter the area to evacuate the casualities, and when the International Red Cross workers were first allowed into the area, they were shocked and horrified by the scene, especially those children who were trapped in the rubble, injured, hungry, cold, and terrified .

Israel’s violation of health human rights became a routine act. I witnessed dozens of such incidents during my work, which show how Israel has no respect for human rights, including health human rights, even though the 4th Geneva convention guarantees those rights. In the last assault against Gaza, more than a dozen health workers were killed while on duty.

We continue our life under the siege, which deprives us from freedom of movement outside and into Gaza, despite the partial lifting of the siege, which is not enough. What we need is a complete lifting of the siege.

Gaza’s population suffers many hardships. Electricity is frequently off, making it harder to write to you. Water is not suitable for drinking and is completely unavailable in some areas. This has a great impact on people’s health, as does the inadequate sewage system for such a densely populated area.

On this small piece of land and with the mentality of people who live under siege, we were so impressed and empowered to learn about the courageous act of the Oakland dock workers who refused to load or unload the "Zim Shenzhen". This act is an effective tool against Israel to pressure them to lift the siege and end the occupation.

We simply felt that these workers and your union expressed their membership of the international family, and refused to accept state aggression and injustice inflicted on other nations, even though we live far away on the other side of the globe.

The is the time for all of us shout and say, “enough!” to Israel’s brutal acts against humanity.

With love and solidarity,

Mona Elfarra

In Gaza I Live

The story of the borders opening
MAY 20, 2010

My story today is not mine it is the story of the borders opening, the borders that are between Gaza and Egypt , and the trial of thousands of people struggling to get through to leave Gaza for different reasons, students , patients, etc… Do I have to give justification for the right of people to move freely in and out of their home, do I need to start using numbers and to mention the different international laws that guarantee this right? I don’t need to look academic and accurate while telling you one side of our way of living under occupation – academic analysis of such a situation is a fantasy. On the first day of the borders opening a few hundred, out of thousands who need to leave, left Gaza.
Many were turned back and one of them was a junior doctor (dr. Abed Qasim) who works at the Red Crescent Society. He has been granted a scholarship for specialization in radiology at Cairo University and on his finishing his degree he will join the radiology department, where we recently managed to get funds for an MRI machine. Dr. Abed has been trying to travel since February, he tried twice and was not lucky enough to cross the borders, it is frustrating for us working in the health field, and one of many frustrations we meet every day in a very challenging environment. We want to upgrade our services and promote our health teams, it is a high priority needed especially given the small and closed area we live in and with all manner of things deteriorating every day. We face the problem of continuous power cuts and a shortage of essential medication supplies, not to mention the need to transfer patients to outside Gaza for further treatment when movement in and out of Gaza represents a big ordeal, a nightmare.
Dr. Qasim could not make it outside Gaza, and maybe he will not make it out on time, to arrive for the beginning of his course. I felt depressed not being able to do anything to help and I felt helpless, but like all of us here in Gaza I have learned how to deal with the abnormal as a normal pattern of life.
And again this is odd and against the nature of things happening on the same day Mr Y. Jaro RCS chair could not make it outside Gaza for his son’s wedding! I am sure without the need to give examples that tens of other patients could not cross either.
Life continues in Gaza and people learn how to cope and adapt themselves, but for how long? I have no answer, but for sure it is one episode of our struggle for freedom and return, I see this in the eyes of people and hear it from them every day during my work and life in Gaza.

In Gaza I live

In Gaza I live

Hello family, friends, and supporters,

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've written. I'm sorry also that I've not yet responded to the wonderful emails of support so many of you have sent during my illness.

I returned to Gaza after a short visit with my children, who are studying in Manchester in the UK. I am on my own here in Gaza, so busy, and life takes me from one day to another with no hope for political change on the horizon. I am very busy with cultural and health programmes and women’s empowerment and rehabilitation programmes, with the great support of Sheffield Women PSC and Manchester and Liverpool Friends of Palestine in the UK, as well as MECA in the US, comrades who support our vision for women’s issues as well as our political views for a future Palestine that is a free country based on equal rights and justice for all.

I am trying to write on my blog, but I cannot access it. I do not have my children’s technical assistance any more, and need to be more independent and technologically acquainted!!!!!

I will keep trying to access my blog--it is the bridge of love between me and my friends outside of Gaza; it is my method of ventilation while living in such difficult circumstances, with closure, siege, and occupation.

In talking of friends in Gaza we find our ways of coping with our situation, one of the many ways our friends care and support while we do not stop dreaming together of a better future for all.

Sport is another way of coping, and the most convenient is walking by the seaside. While walking I meet some of the fishermen in the early hours of the day, around 5 am, while they are struggling hard to live and can see the Israeli gunboats patrolling the sea as they harass and shoot at Palestinian boats.

I meet small children walking for long distances to reach their schools, as many families cannot afford to pay for transportation!!!!!! Tiny smiling faces have to leave their homes so early in the morning to reach school on time.

Shops here are stuffed with all sorts of goods; we get them via the tunnels at the Egyptian border. But few people can afford them—all goods are very expensive! Only a small new class can afford them. This class emerged in the void of the now-displaced previous elite, and the majority of people still suffer.

Israeli attacks continue; as I am writing there are incursions into the Gaza border areas of Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and Khan-Yunis, which you probably don’t hear in the news—Gaza is only remembered when a big disaster occurs !!!!!!!!

Last month we received the Viva Palestina convoy. I met activists from the UK, PSC York, Liverpool, Sheffield, Cambria, Birmingham, and Bristol. But they were only allowed to stay for such a short time, only 48 hours, a tremendous shame!! They did not have nearly enough time to see Gaza

Recently I helped in fundraising for the MRI machine at the Red Crescent Society for Gaza Strip. We reached our goal!

This highly sophisticated equipment is vital for Gaza’s patients who suffer daily because of the deteriorating health facilities, the lack of many essential medications, and the border closure that prevents people from crossing. Many patients need further treatment abroad, but the Rafah crossing has been closed for almost two months now. It will open next month, and when it is open it is very unpredictable and open only for three days, and the number of those who cross the border are much less than those who actually need to cross, including patients, students, families, etc…

Friends:

I continue to be empowered when thinking of you and your great support and nonstop solidarity.

I find my self-esteem when I meet daily with people I work for, when I see children happily painting, dancing, reading, and involved in the different cultural programmes even amidst a life that is so hard and unfair, when I meet with women who leave their homes to receive nutrition and dental care services and lectures in the courses I run, when I feel the satisfaction of the team that runs those courses under such a difficult atmosphere.

Love,

Mona

back to gaza 29th -December 2009 -with love

Hello –my journey back home -29th 0f December 2009
From Manchester to Gaza via Cairo

Conflicting feelings roars inside me; while saying good bye to my children at the Manchester airport I am torn between the two most loveable things in my life—my children and home, where I am with friends and workmates, community and extended family. In the end I have to say goodbye and start my journey back to Gaza.

Fifteen hours’ delay in Istanbul as I lost my connection flight to Cairo due to the snow that hit Europe in unprecedented levels.

Passengers were complaining and restless due to the delay. I felt strange: This is nothing compared to what we face in Gaza when we try to leave and cross the border. It took me three days to be able to leave Gaza for Cairo last November and I was lucky to be able to leave at all (all things are relative in life). I started missing my kids, but also felt relief to start my journey home again.

As Palestinians living in Gaza we deal with the abnormal as normal; everything is relative.

Two hours after I arrived in Cairo I met friends from the Gaza Freedom March at the Sun Hotel, friends from different parts of the world. I met many of them through years of activism and solidarity with Palestine, people from France, Italy, Argentina, Australia, the US, the UK, etc.

Barbara, Gregg, Josie, and Norma

As part of the Gaza Freedom March, who were denied entry to Gaza, these friends decided to accompany me to Rafah and say goodbye on the border. On Saturday we all left on our way to the border, but soon we were stopped and were not allowed to continue to Rafah. We returned to the hotel.

I left C airo the next morning, carrying 8 suitcases of aid to Gaza. Norma joked, telling me “you are a camel!” I felt relieved to be able to carry the aid they hoped to carry to Gaza. I laughed at the idea of being a camel and felt sorry they could not enter Gaza. It is not just the aid, it is also the solidarity with Palestine and Palestinians in Gaza under siege and occupation.

On my way to Gaza

The distance between Cairo and Gaza is 500 km. As the car started, I was daydreaming of returning home, back to my apartment, workmates, friends, and community!

The car was ordered to stop at thirteen checkpoints!

The procedures at the Rafah crossing were too fast and easy! In less than seven hours since my journey’s start I was at my apartment.

Home sweet home

I wake up to the usual sounds of shelling against the Palestinian fishermen, and some heavy shelling further away at the northeast borders of Gaza.

Viva Palestina

Wednesday

At 2:30 am I heard a continuous sound of car horns under my window. I realized that the convoy was allowed to enter Gaza at last, and they are actually in Gaza! I rushed to the small airport to join the reception of the convoy, very excited to meet Heather of PSC York.

Rachel and Paul Quakers from Cambria

Thank you all for your great solidarity
Mona

Gaza today

Gaza Today
26th of February

Raining, raining, very cold; it seems that we’ve been struck by a storm from Europe.

I sit in my 10th floor apartment by the seaside, dark and cold (very cold), thinking of thousands of families that do not have electricity at the moment. Many have the opportunity to buy small electrical generators that we import via the tunnels, but the majority cannot afford them! As for me, for many reasons, including environmental reasons, I rejected the idea—those generators are very noisy, costly, and a nuisance.

Lack of electricity in the home for long periods not only affects routine household activities (which are extremely vital), it affects ones mood, too, and communication with the outside world and even inside Gaza, as all telecommunications are affected by power cuts.

The small piece of land that is Gaza is surrounded by electrical wires and closed borders, where 1.6 million live from one day to another with all sorts of hardships and no political outlet, exacerbated not only by the occupation but also the internal division.

Clean water is big problem—the purchase of water adds an additional burden on families small budgets.

It is raining heavily outside and getting colder and colder. It is dark, gloomy, so depressing. This is my Gaza today.