Living among the dead in Gaza

[Jefferson23]

January 28, 2015

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — “We smell the stench of death everywhere and all we see is the burial of the dead. We no longer know the meaning of leisure, as we have abandoned the hope of living.” This is how Abu Raed al-Qahwaji described the life of his family, which lives in a cemetery called the “Baptist” in central Gaza.



A Palestinian girl is seen outside her family's home in a graveyard in Gaza City, where they are forced to live due to deteriorating living conditions and a lack of housing, Jan. 5, 2014. (photo by Yasser Qudiah)

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/01/gaza-war-housing-living-graves.html#ixzz3QEBR6URL


Qahwaji, 39, who lives in the cemetery with his wife and four children, told Al-Monitor, “We used to live in a small flat in an apartment building in the Shajaiya neighborhood in central Gaza City. We could not afford the monthly rent, but a businessman took care of it as a donation. However, the building was destroyed in the war and we were left with no other choice but this ‘small hut’ I set up in the cemetery.”

He explained that he could not find any other shelter given his dire situation, poverty and unemployment, while the demand on apartments was increasing following the war that destroyed tens of thousands of houses and apartment buildings.

“We have become like the living dead. We have no food, home or clothing,” he said indignantly. “We live off some of the aid we receive from charitable associations and some good people on an irregular basis.”



Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/01/gaza-war-housing-living-graves.html#ixzz3QEBDN4qW

[polly7]

1. God, how horrible.

Where is the rest of the world for these people? Imagine, your own little child living among death and such destruction. It should be heartbreaking for everyone on earth.

[Jefferson23]

3. It exists in many places, this one has a solution..some devastating problems do not

have one.

We'll see what happens with the ICC..Israel's elections are no guarantee it will bring
enough change to support a peace deal for a viable state for the Palestinians.

[polly7]

4. I really hope so.

They've been through too much. Those children should not have to grow up in fear and desolation.

[libodem]

7. .

[polly7]

9. Back at you, libodem.

[oberliner]

2. Qatar leads $5.4bn international pledge to rebuild Gaza

Qatar has promised the largest aid package among donors gathered in Cairo to raise funds for reconstruction in the Gaza Strip, which was left devastated following this summer’s 50-day war between Israel and Hamas

“The state of Qatar announces its participation with an amount of $1 billion for the reconstruction of Gaza,” Qatari Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiya told a conference in the Egyptian capital, attended by representatives from dozens of countries and international organisations.

The $4 billion in aid sought from participants was exceeded as intended donations totalled $5.4 billion, Norway's foreign minister said Sunday evening. European Union member states have made a combined pledge for €450 million ($570 million) and US Secretary of State John Kerry announced $212 million in new aid from the United States. Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait promised $200 million each.

http://www.france24.com/en/20141012-gaza-aid-talks-cairo-usa-kerry/

What has happened with those billions of dollars?

[PotatoChip]

6. The meeting in which the money was pledged was held in October, 2014

according to your link.

The aid may have reached Gazans only recently.

Or who knows- maybe they got it right off, and relief efforts are underway as we speak. Given the enormity of this humanitarian crisis, it'll probably take a lot of time for life to get back to anything that resembles 'normal'.

[oberliner]

8. Or maybe they just pledged the money but didn't actually donate it

Of $5.4 billion pledged for Gaza, only a fraction delivered

(Reuters) - Two months after donors pledged $5.4 billion to help rebuild Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas, Palestinian, U.N. and other officials say barely 2 percent of the money has been transferred.

The conference in Cairo had been hailed as a success, with Qatar promising $1 billion, Saudi Arabia $500 million and the United States and the European Union a combined $780 million in various forms of assistance.

Half was expected to go to rebuilding houses and infrastructure in Gaza destroyed during seven weeks of fighting, and the rest to support the Palestinian budget.

But of the total, only $100 million or so has been received, according to U.N. and other officials. While the EU and the United States have accelerated some funding that was already in the pipeline, very few new pledges have come to fruition.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/19/us-mideast-gaza-support-idUSKBN0JX0W320141219

That's from December.

[libodem]

5. Rather like our Republican Politicians

In regard to public health care. It's the hurry up and die philosophy.

How do the Conservative Israeli overlords live with themselves?
Don't they have a concept about doing good works as a tenet of their faith.
It must be only for the deserving.

Landlords are sure different than homeless wanderers.
No wonder God didn't originally grant them a homeland any sooner. They turned into assholes.

Acquiring land and defending it seems to have destroyed all compassion and empathy for anyone but themselves.