One of the challenges of living in Gaza is adjusting to the randomness of things. There is seldom any certainty about what the day will look like and planning is difficult when power goes down for hours on end each and every day.
Life here is governed by external forces: what the Israelis will allow into the country, what gets through the tunnels, whether or not Egypt will sell diesel to Gaza and at what price.
Yesterday it was announced that fuel supplies to Gaza from Qatar were to be reduced by Egypt and Israel- the two countries through which it transits. Gaza is receiving 100,000 litres per day when it needs five times that amount for its power plant to function. In June, the power plant had to shut down entirely due to a delay in the fuel supply from Qatar, leading to 12 hour per day blackouts. Of course, if there is no power, then other elements of Gaza's fragile infrastructure fail to operate too, such as the water supply.
Up until February, Hamas organised the importation of fuel through the tunnels with the cooperation of the Egyptian authorities, who then had a change of heart. A political wrangle ensued with each side accusing the other of skulduggery. No matter what the political intricacies of the immediate situation, the issue of fuel shortage can be directly attributed to the illegal closure of Gaza by Israel with the acquiescence of the international community.
Gaza has been kept ticking over by fuel smuggled in through the tunnels, fuel that feeds thousands of generators that allow everyday activities to continue in a normal(ish) kind of way. Most buildings in Gaza have their own generator but running them is expensive and, as anyone who owns one knows, they are temperamental beasts, prone to breaking down.
One of the more serious consequences of the closure and related fuel crisis is for hospitals, already suffering from an acute shortage of medicines. In April the International Committee of the Red Cross stepped in with supplies, warning that the failure to ensure fuel and electricity was potentially putting the lives of thousands of patients in danger. Most vulnerable are hospital operating theatres and specialist units including intensive care, neonatal and haemodialysis.
In PCHR's Occupied Lives: Switching Off Hospitals, (worthy of a read) the Deputy Director of the ICU at Al- Shifa hospital, Dr Kamal Abu Obada says "For me as a doctor, this is all very depressing. All the time I am working to keep the patients alive and when the electricity is cut, they are all at risk. If something happens to them, my efforts are all in vain."
Michael Posner, where are you? I have a few questions I'd like to ask.....
Life here is governed by external forces: what the Israelis will allow into the country, what gets through the tunnels, whether or not Egypt will sell diesel to Gaza and at what price.
Yesterday it was announced that fuel supplies to Gaza from Qatar were to be reduced by Egypt and Israel- the two countries through which it transits. Gaza is receiving 100,000 litres per day when it needs five times that amount for its power plant to function. In June, the power plant had to shut down entirely due to a delay in the fuel supply from Qatar, leading to 12 hour per day blackouts. Of course, if there is no power, then other elements of Gaza's fragile infrastructure fail to operate too, such as the water supply.
Up until February, Hamas organised the importation of fuel through the tunnels with the cooperation of the Egyptian authorities, who then had a change of heart. A political wrangle ensued with each side accusing the other of skulduggery. No matter what the political intricacies of the immediate situation, the issue of fuel shortage can be directly attributed to the illegal closure of Gaza by Israel with the acquiescence of the international community.
Gaza has been kept ticking over by fuel smuggled in through the tunnels, fuel that feeds thousands of generators that allow everyday activities to continue in a normal(ish) kind of way. Most buildings in Gaza have their own generator but running them is expensive and, as anyone who owns one knows, they are temperamental beasts, prone to breaking down.
Last Friday, I was at home waiting to take part in a web conference on human rights with the US Assistant Secretary of State- I had posted him my questions in advance as requested and was hoping he would address them. 10 minutes before the conference was due to start the power went down- no electricity, no internet. Desperate, I went down and asked the building's caretaker to turn on the generator- which he did, but I had to pay ILS100 - around EUR20 for the privilege. This might seem like extortion but we live in an apartment block with 11 floors - so this is probably about right for 1 hour of electricity.
With the generator fired up I got to watch most of the conference- the internet, always slow, kept buffering. US Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner answered questions on human rights posed by participants around the world, outlining the US position in general terms and then addressing issues specific to particular countries.
Posner kept tantalising me by zoning in on the Middle East - he answered questions on Syria, Egypt and Iran. I really wanted him to answer just one of my questions: on the US position on the settlements or the closure or making Israel accountable. In my heart of hearts I knew that he would not address Israel/Palestine, no matter how diplomatically I had phrased the questions. Not with an election coming up and Romney intently courting the US jewish community by rubbishing the Obama regime's relationship with and commitment to Israel. If I was him, I wouldn't have touched this issue with a barge-pole either. Still I was disappointed. By my reckoning Posner owes me 20 quid! I figure this out as I sit in my sweltering office where the air conditioning has cut out- again.
One of the more serious consequences of the closure and related fuel crisis is for hospitals, already suffering from an acute shortage of medicines. In April the International Committee of the Red Cross stepped in with supplies, warning that the failure to ensure fuel and electricity was potentially putting the lives of thousands of patients in danger. Most vulnerable are hospital operating theatres and specialist units including intensive care, neonatal and haemodialysis.
In PCHR's Occupied Lives: Switching Off Hospitals, (worthy of a read) the Deputy Director of the ICU at Al- Shifa hospital, Dr Kamal Abu Obada says "For me as a doctor, this is all very depressing. All the time I am working to keep the patients alive and when the electricity is cut, they are all at risk. If something happens to them, my efforts are all in vain."
Michael Posner, where are you? I have a few questions I'd like to ask.....
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