in
C B l S B « » e S D EC A D E
5
Street roots
Education * Dialogue * Independence
N A JJA R, from page 4
married and make the money for her family.
So this also could result in early marriage
for females. Families sometimes force
daughters to get married because they want
to be rid of the financial burden of her, even
if she doesn’t cost them so much. B ut
because they are poor, they think about her
food, her transportation. All of these things
are tied into the unemployment and general
violence. People get very disappointed and
it’s easy to lose there temper and unleash
domestic violence On their wives, their kids,
their neighbors, whoever.
We talk about the female forced into early
marriage. We also have a high rate of
divorce these days because of the
unemployment.
Also we’re seeing many of the ladies
sitting in streets asking for money, and this
hasn’t been found in our community at all,
really. This is a new phenomenon. All the
families are suffering from the same
circumstances, and the same conditions, so
they will not be able to afford help for her.
Unemployment is also increasing the
number of people who need assistance,
which increases the burden on the
international community to cover the basic
needs. Working on this kind of assistance
means you can’t go and develop something
else, something more. It’s basic needs
coverage only, emergency needs.
for all the international organizations.
We have 5,000 families who have lost
their houses, and none of the international
organizations or even the government is
able to rebuild their houses or offer them a
new house because the construction
materials are not allowed to enter Gaza.
J.Z.: What are they doing? How are they
surviving?
I.A.N.: Some of them are living with their
relatives. Others are living in crowded
apartments. And some of the organizations
can afford some rent and heat, but it does
not last for long. They could afford it for the
first two months, but that’s i t So it
sometimes forces the family to go to very .
bad conditions, bad apartments or
warehouses, and live there. Because also
they are unemployed, they cannot pay thé
fees.
JLZ.: Two years ago, during your Work in
Gaza shortly after Hamas took over, you said
that the NGOs who are operating in the Gaza
Strip would have to play the role of the
government there because the government will
not be able to do it.
IA.N.rFor example, the government
should assure that the social affairs are OK.
That people-are working, students graduate,
to take carfe of needy families. But now 80
percent is relying on food assistance. The
government is not able to afford this. Stf the
international organizations are now taking
this responsibility.
The governing of basic needs is done by
the international community.
J.Z.: You grew up in the region and the
conflict all your life. What is there to give
people a sense of hope that it can change
because it is almost more grim today than it
was 30 years ago?
I. A.N.: The humanitarian assistance is
required, but also Palestinian people will
have to work together. We are asking the
international community to play an
influential role and push the Israeli side to
implement the resolution for a two-state
solution. Because we want to live in.peace,
and we would like the international
community to play their role, an active role
in this. We know the negotiations have gone
on for a while. We know we are the weak
party. We are waiting for the international
community.
J. Z.: There is international pressure to
recognize the blockade as a war crime and a
crime against humanity. And theU.N. fact
finding report noting violations on both sides
is gaining attention. Does this give you hope
for raising awareness of the Palestinian plight?
J.Z.: What challenges do the current
conditions present in your work in delivering
aid to people?
Life is not thinking
I.A.N.: Under difficult circumstances, it is
getting access to the worst families if they
are in a restricted area orin conflicted '
areas, if there are killings or shootings. In
terms of other programs, there are
complications in hpw we can get materials.
Because we are talking abp,ut .helping?, , ?
disadvantaged farmers and irrigating their
greenhouses, we need the raw materials for
them to build and repair; Because of the
siege on Gaza, we are not able to get this
material, which makes our work more
difficult. So this kind of scarcity of material
has sometimes limited our intervention, and
By Dharma Bum
Wellspring surging 1
The hearts passion flys
Joy rising on a thermal
Both feet on the ground
Hush the mind
Silence has a voice
The heart has ears
Listen to the wind
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J. Z.: Personally, how do you deal with it?
I.A.N.: For hope, we are not so optimistic
at all. Most of the people, they give up. The
people are waiting for what kind of solution,
we do not know. And I consider it a problem
of the Palestinians, they are uniquely
adapted. They can adapt to any situation —
we stand in line for 10 hours just to get our
bread. We will survive. This is the problem.
Palestinians have a very strange coping
mechanism. It’s strength, but I get mad at
th a t Whatever situation, we will just adapt,
just cope with it
Théy have something special because of
what they have experienced since 1948, and
in 1967 and then the First Intifada and then
the Second Intifada, and now you have the
ongoing military action ... They’re shooting
farmers working on their farms, fisherman
at sea — all for security reasons. What kind
of danger does a farmer working by his
hands do to a soldier, or a tank or a
bulldozer? What kind of danger?
We want to live in peace with our
neighbors. We are recognizing the existence
of Israel, and we would like to live in peace
with them. Thé normal people just want to
enjoy life and have their basic human rights.
You ask any average Palestinian and they say
they want to live in peace, to have a shop
and to feed their kids. This is what they
want. Nothing more.
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I. A.N.: We are hoping that something
good will happen. But given the
circumstancés, there is nothing so far to let
us be optimistic.
And who is paying the price for all these
conflicts taking place? It’s not the
government, it’s not the Palestinian
Authority, it’s not Hamas. It’s the poorest
people, thé poor people in Gaza and the
West Bank. Because the families are now
homeless, they are waiting for an
agreement, because they are hoping that
the construction material will get in so they
can have a shelter. Which is one of the basic
rights. It’s then normal Palestinian people
and the poor people who are paying the
price for all these conflict, for the Israeli-
Palestinian or Palestinian-Palestinian issues.
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