From Gaza, with Love

Thursday, November 01, 2007

one of my days in Gaza

One of my days in Gaza
Thursday 1st of November 2007-11-01
I woke up 5.30am. looked at the extending beautiful Mediterranean from my window , what a lovely day !,I felt the nice autumn Mediterranean breeze , all of a sudden I saw the Israeli gunboat patrolling the sea , may be 1 km away from my apartment , I heard sound of shelling coming from the north part of the town ,heard the local radio announcing the killing of one child a woman and many injured ,I am not to provide you with statistics, but in October alone ,65 Palestinians were killed and tens more injure din Gaza strip
Everyday there are different sorts of military operations and assaults , in different parts of the Gaza Strip, last week and not far from my home, the drone launched a rocket against one of its targets while driving his car, the man was killed in a savage way .
While watching the gunboat patrolling the sea , it was strong message for me ,:wake up YOU LIVE IN Gaza ,where there is no place for any romantic feelings, no place for saying simple thing, like , what a nice day, no place for planning any thing ahead of you , no place for you to enjoy what has been left of the nature , birds stopped singing , the war sound is louder than what left of nature , how can u feel normal when u are surrounded with poverty , unemployment ,crowd , ruins of buildings , destroyed land lack of entertainment ,lack of freedom of movement ,daily violence, lack of safety and the most heartbreaking is living with no vision or hope for future change in the political situation ,
In Gaza we all feel strangulated ,and at the moment there is mass feeling of despair . .
I drank my coffee , and hurried up to my meeting at the Red Crescent Society For Gaza Strip, with the director of the jabalia women centre , we run this centre in Jabalia refugee camp since 2000, it offers holistic care services for women , health , psychological support , health education , legal aid consultations and , keep fit classes ,
in Gaza, when poverty is the rule , unemployment is high , and violence and war atmosphere is the normal ,it is not surprising to find increasing level of domestic violence as an outcome of all the mentioned contributing factors ,35%of Palestinian women in Gaza suffer from Post traumatic stress syndrome , 45% of Gaza children too , at war times it is children and women who takes the brunt of it and pay big price of it ..
On my way to jabalia refugee camp, as I was invited by the AlASRIA youth forum Shababeek or windows, it is a cultural platform or forum, it was founded as youth initiative in Jabalia, the tilte of my lecture is the role of the ISM, inside Palestine,
I have little car accident, my foot was twisted, I changed my direction to AlAwda hospital ER room, the lecture was cancelled, iam fine it was just simple accident

When I write from Gaza , it is not only because I insist to tell you the truth , to spread the word , I also write because I feel it is my way of ventilation, I ventilate by writing to you , it is more like psychological healing and support, everyday I try like others to survive and not to get crushed under the occupation big army foot ,one of my different ways is writing .

I love you all
Mona ElFarra

10 Comments:

  • Dear Mona,

    It's good to see you back writing for us (and for you) and telling us what the medias do not report.
    Just as you, we won't give up struggling and advocating for your freedom.
    You can see your last report on the French ISM website (in french...).

    http://www.ism-france.org/news/article.php?id=7738&type=temoignage

    Take care, please.

    In solidarity,

    Mireille, Bordeaux-France

    By Blogger Mireille, at 11/02/2007 12:22 AM  

  • Thank you for sharing your life with us. I hope that your foot heals quickly. Insha'allah you will be able to speak about the role of the ISM in the future. I would love to hear what you have to say as I volunteered with them last summer and hope to do so again.

    salamat,
    Lina

    By Blogger Teacher Activist, at 11/02/2007 1:58 AM  

  • This comment has been removed by the author.

    By Blogger Teacher Activist, at 11/02/2007 1:59 AM  

  • Mona, bloggers like you do an incredible job of telling a story through aching, articulate eyes. Keep going, it's so important.

    By Blogger Diaa Hadid, at 11/02/2007 1:32 PM  

  • I don't see how you do it, not knowing if the building you are in will be targeted for some reason.

    I wish you the best for peace and safety

    www.pafundi.com
    ===================================
    Number of Operations Iraq Freedom and Enduring Freedom casualties as confirmed by U.S. Central Command: 4278

    By Blogger Ted, at 11/02/2007 7:49 PM  

  • Mona, everyday when I read your blog, I always want to comment, but never know what to say. Just know that, even though I have never met you, you change my life every time I read your words. Know that I think and worry about you all the time. Inshallah you will remain safe and there will be a change someday. In the mean-time, keep venting. We're out here listening and caring.

    Thank you. John

    By Blogger John D. Martin III, at 11/11/2007 12:55 PM  

  • Allah yardımcın olsun...with my pray...

    By Blogger naile, at 1/23/2008 12:45 PM  

  • I find it abhorant that the world can allow Israel to punish a nation (yes I said nation) for the act of a few.

    It is a contradiction to Judean law to punish the innocent for the act of a few. This is exactly what Israel is doing.

    I do not agree with the rocket attacks. It is a cowardly and unacceptable way to communicate.

    Still, with Israel's access to resources we need to hold them to a higher standard than their current display of foreign relations.

    I sympathize with your plight.

    I fear that, even if we started a true peace process today, the bitterness and resentment of the past several decades (if not thousands of years) would take several generations to resolve. Still, that is no reason to start today. In fact, we MUST start today. Everyone that starts today, makes peace that much closer.

    Shame on the nay sayers, but I extend the olive branch regardless.

    By Blogger Pete, at 1/25/2008 2:54 AM  

  • Fortunately the conflict has only been the last 100+ years.

    Unfortunately, thanks to lies, the world thinks Arabs and Jews have been fighting forever.

    Jews and Arabs used to live together for centuries, taking care of each others children.

    It's only lies which have stressed this relationship.

    You're words made me cry again. I cannot fathom your experiences and thank you for writing them.

    By Blogger Sam, at 1/26/2008 3:01 AM  

  • I've just dicovered your blog,thanks to "Courrier International". Amazing!! I find amazing the fact that people from all around the world communicate here. And that all of us beleive that peace is possible. I admire you and the fact you are writing on this blog. We are far away from each other and very different but I'm just like you,writing is my "ventilation" as you say... If I can do anything for you,please tell me: juliana.jojo@wanadoo.fr
    Keep dreaming,even if it must be hard with horror which surround you; but dreaming will help you to live. "Courage!"
    Juliana (18)

    By Blogger Juliana, at 1/28/2008 1:27 PM  

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