Ein Dieb ist einem schlafenden Mann vorbeigekommen, der Dieb dachte, er könnte jetzt die Hosentasche für Geld untersuchen.
Der Dieb hat den Mann komplett untersucht, er hat sogar geschwitzt hat, aber er fand kein Geld.

Dann hat er den schlafenden Mann mit seinem Bein zum aufwecken geschlagen: „wach auf“ sagte der Dieb
„Eeehhh was geht ab?“ Antwortete der Mann
„Du hast kein Geld, und Du schläfst?“ Fragte der Dieb
Der Mann sagte: „deswegen schlafe ich“ , der Mann meinte: ich habe kein Geld, deswegen konnte ich schlafen, ohne Angst zu haben, dass Jemand die Bankkarte oder das Taschengeld klaut.

Ich hoffe, dass ihr es verstanden habt  🙂

Der Grenzübergang Rafah ist das einzige Fenster der Bewohner des Gazastreifens nach Ägypten sowie zur Außenwelt. Vor dem Jahr 2005 wurde er von Israel kontrolliert. Damals mussten die Reisende vom Gazastreifen palästinensische, israelische und ägyptische Passkontrollen passieren.

Seit dem Beginn der innerpalästinensischen Spaltung im Jahr 2007 ist der Grenzübergang Rafah selten geöffnet worden. Die Ägypter behaupten, dass eine illegale Bewegung den Gazastreifen kontrolliert.

Heutzutage gibt es bestimmte Kategorien für Personen, die über diesen Grenzübergang ausreisen dürfen. Laut dem Innenministerium im Gazastreifen sind diese Kategorien wie folgt: 

• Ägyptische Staatsbürger
• Studenten mit gültiger Studienzulassung und Studentenvisum
• Patienten, die eine amtliche medizinische Überweisung des palästinensischen
• Gesundheitsministeriums haben
• Ausländer mit gültigem Reisepass
• Personen mit einer gültigen Aufenthaltsgenehmigung im Ausland.

Vor der Reise muss man sich im Gazastreifen beim Innenministerium registrieren lassen, nachdem man eine Quittung mit einer Wartenummer erhalten hat.

Zur Zeit gibt es mehr als 25.000 registrierte Personen, die dringend ausreisen müssen. Diese werden auch ihre Chancen auf Bildung, medizinische Behandlung, Arbeit, Aufenthalt und Heirat verlieren, wenn der Grenzübergang Rafah nicht sofort geöffnet wird.

Die ständige Schließung des Grenzübergangs Rafah verursacht tiefes Leid für die Menschen im Gazastreifen. So wird zum Beispiel jemand, der einen Job im Ausland hat und seine Familie im blockierten Streifen besuchen möchte, große Angst haben, dass er nicht wieder ausreisen kann.

Foto: Anzahl der Tage, an denen Grenzübergang Rafah in den vergangenen Jahren geöffnet war, Quelle: Innenministerium im Gazastreifen.

Der Gazastreifen ist 365 Quadratkilometer groß. Er steht seit 70 Jahren unter israelischer

Besatzung. Seit 11 Jahren ist er total abgeriegelt und eingeschlossen durch Israel und Ägypten von allen Seiten. Hier leben 2,5 Millionen Menschen leben, die unter drei barbarischen israelischen Kriegen (2008, 2012, 2014)  und deren Folgen gelitten haben. 

Die einzige Möglichkeit für die Leute, die dringende Bedürfnisse auszureisen haben, besteht darin, hohes Schmiergeld an die Beamten des ägyptischen Geheimdienst zu zahlen. Diese Beamten überwachen den Grenzübergang Rafah auf der ägyptischen Seite.

Durch Mittler-Reisebüros im Gazastreifen bezahlen die bedürftigen Leute ab 3000$, um sich bei den  ägyptischen Beamten registrieren zu lassen und leichter ausreisen zu können.

Bei der nächsten Öffnung von Grenzübergang Rafah schicken diese ägyptischen Beamter handgeschriebene Listen von den Personen, die ihnen das Schmiergeld gezahlt haben, an die palästinensische Seite des Übergangs. Dabei führen die Ägypter Verhandlungen mit der palästinensischen Seite, dass sie “ihre Kunden” zuerst lassen müssen. Sonst werden die Ägypter keine normale Reisende, die sich bei dem Innenministerium registriert haben und seit Monaten und Jahren auf der langen Warteliste standen, die Grenze nicht übertreten lassen.

Bei der letzten Grenzöffnung konnten 1.440 Personen die Grenze überqueren. Davon sind 740 Personen, die die Ägypter bestechen mussten, 200 ägyptische Bürger und 550 humanitäre Fälle (Studenten, Patienten und Ausländer).

Auch wenn man es schafft, die Grenze zu überqueren, hat das Leid kein Ende. Die Reise durch Halbinsel Sinai zum Flughafen Kairo ist sehr lange und mühsam, der Weg ist mehr als 450 Kilometer lang und voller ägyptischer Militärkontrollen. An jedem Kontrollpunkt muss das Gepäck der Reisenden durchgesucht werden.

Die Reise vom Grenzübergang Rafah bis zum Flughafen Kairo dauert bis zu drei Tage.

Zuerst muss man die Reiseverfahren am Grenzübergang abschließen. Die meisten Reisenden haben große Angst, dass sie das Reiseverfahren nicht abschließen können, bevor die militärische Ausgangssperre im Norden der Sinai-Halbinsel beginnt.

Wenn es keine Ausgangssperre gibt, ist die Reise ein Tag kürzer. So gibt es einen Tag für das Reiseverfahren am Grenzübergang und weiteren Tag für die Reise zum Flughafen Kairo.

Als Alternative zum Grenzübergang Rafah kann man einen Antrag bei den jordanischen und israelischen Behörden für eine Ausreisegenehmigung stellen, um aus dem Gazastreifen ausreisen zu können.

Man wartet sehr lange bis man auf einen Bescheid beziehungsweise eine Genehmigung von den beiden Behörden bekommt.

Zuerst sollte der Antrag bei den jordanischen Behörden gestellt werden. Auf die jordanische Genehmigung wartet man bis zu einem Monat, auf die israelische bis zu 50 Tagen. Es ist unsicher, ob man eine der zwei Genehmigungen bekommen wird. Es hängt gänzlich von der Laune der israelischen und jordanischen Behörden ab, ob man eine Zusage oder eine Absage ohne jede Begründung bekommt.

Die Regeln am israelischen Erez Grenzübergang im Norden des Gazastreifens sind sehr streng. Nur die Angestellten von den internationalen Hilfsorganisationen, die dringenden medizinischen Fälle und palästinensische Offizielle dürfen diesen Grenzübergang überqueren.

Die Ausreise aus dem Gazastreifen bleibt ein großes Leid für die Bewohner des Gazastreifens. Eine baldige Lösung zu dieser Krise steht nicht in Aussicht.

Etwas Historie (Aus Wikipedia):

In Rafah befindet sich der einzige Grenzübergang zwischen Ägypten und dem Gazastreifen. Er wurde 1979 nach der Unterzeichnung des ​israelisch-ägyptischen Friedensvertrags​, der Israels Rückzug von der Sinai-Halbinse​        l vorsah, errichtet. Auf israelischer Seite war die​    Israel Airports Authority für den Grenzübergang verantwortlich.

Nach dem Rückzug der ​israelischen Armee​ aus den ​israelisch besetzten Gebieten​ im

Rahmen des Scharon-Plan​ s im September 2005 wurde die Verantwortung für die​       

Grenzkontrollen an die ​Palästinensische Autonomiebehörde​ abgegeben.​[5]​ Um israelische Sicherheitsinteressen zu wahren, wurde der ägyptische Sicherheitsposten in Rafah verstärkt, zusätzlich sicherte die Europäische Unio​        n ​ mit einer Kontrollmissio​    n den​  Grenzübergang.

Infolge des innerpalästinensischen Konflikts um Gaza im Juni 200​         7​ verfügte Ägypten noch vor der Machtübernahme der ​Hamas im Gazastreifen die permanente Schließung des​   Grenzübergangs. Rafah wurde fortan zum Brennpunkt palästinensischer Bemühungen, die Abschottung des Gazastreifens durch Israel und Ägypten zu umgehen. Am 23. Januar 2008 sprengten militante Palästinenser die Grenzbefestigungen in Rafah, in den folgenden Tagen nutzten Zehntausende die Möglichkeit des freien Übergangs nach Ägypten.​[6]

Im Juni 2010 lockerte Ägypten die Abriegelung des Grenzüberganges als Reaktion auf den

Ship-to-Gaza-Zwischenfall​.​[7]​ Die Öffnung des Übergangs ermöglichte die Versorgung der Bevölkerung mit Hilfsgütern, allerdings blieb der Übergang streng bewacht. Personen konnten die Grenze nur mit ​Visa​ oder ausländischen Pässen passieren.​[8]

Nach dem Sturz des ägyptischen Staatspräsidente​ n​ ​Husni Mubarak​ im Februar 2011 und der durch Ägypten vermittelten Annäherung zwischen Hamas und Fata​        h kündigte der​ damalige ägyptische Außenminister ​Nabil Elaraby​ die vollständige Öffnung des

Grenzüberganges in Rafah an.​[9]​ Am 28. Mai 2011 wurde schließlich der Übergang für den

Personenverkehr geöffnet, allerdings können nur Frauen und Kinder ohne

Sondergenehmigung aus dem Gazastreifen ausreisen.​[10]

The Israeli Occupation and recent war on Gaza currently punishes we Gazans in the most cruel way possible – by denying us access to the basics of 21^st​ ​ century life – fresh water and electricity. Not only are we besieged and have our water denied but then it is sold back to us at over double the normal price. The Israeli water company ‘Mekrot’ play on the plight and despair of the Palestinian people by preventing us from having free access to water but continue to provide water to the settlers in the West Bank for their oh so necessary swimming pools in the illegal settlements built on the land stolen from us.

We Palestinians are provided with less than the amount of water required for even critical usage, obliging us to maintain a lone electricity power plant that gets its fuel solely from the occupation crossings along the border between the Gaza Strip and the occupied territories.

In addition, the number of crossings out of Gaza has shrank to only two, firstly the Erez crossing designated for medical emergencies and internationals and the Kerem Shalom crossing designated for goods traffic and supplies. However these crossings are barely functioning in order to maintain what I have termed the ‘Calorie Siege,’ designed to keep the people of Gaza dangling somewhere between desperation and death. We are in constant need of very basic supplies necessary for a ‘human’ existence; gas, food, petrol, electricity and water. If we lose any more fuel for the power station in Gaza, the daily electricity schedule will drop to less than the existing 8 hours a day. As I write, Rafah has now been without electricity for 3 and a half days.

The Israelis seem to need to profit from the suffering of the Palestinians. Indeed they have bombed our power station so that Gaza has had to buy replacement equipment from Israeli companies, not forgetting the fees the Israelis have imposed on the imported fuel and equipment for the existing power station. In addition, when the power grid in Gaza malfunctions, it takes ages to be repaired because the Israeli forces won’t allow the maintenance teams to repair the supply cables near the separation fence from the occupied Palestine since 1948.

The Palestinian Authority is supposed to be the caretaker of the people in Gaza, but it is far from this. It feels as though it is a fellow occupation force that works hard to the double the suffering of its people. What is more, it is led by terribly corrupt individuals who are in fact businessmen rather than leaders.

The amount of electricity available in Gaza is linked with the very volatile situation here regarding the political clashes between Fatah and Hamas. Fatah (represented by the PA and its close relations with Israel) uses its standing to impose pressures on its main rival, Hamas which in turn impacts on basic services in Gaza such water, health services and electricity.

Egypt supply the Gaza Strip with a small portion of power capacity mostly to Rafah city which borders the Egyptian Sinai but it is the same situation when one of the Egyptian supplying cables malfunctions. Therefore, the electricity problem doesn’t improve at all because the besieging powers both Egypt and the Israeli occupation  are manipulating the problem in order to maintain some kind of control over how they wish the life in Gaza to be looking like.

Israel, Egypt and PA use the very basic and urgent needs of the Gaza Strip as an effective tool on the controlling power of Hamas. They believe that if Gazans get fed up enough, they will turn on Hamas and in effect force it to relinquish power. Although the European Union plays a major role in supplying the Gaza Strip with the much needed electricity it also has to get past both Israel and the PA who place plenty of hurdles to prevent this from happening. No one wants to deal with Hamas and then these basics of electricity and water are affected.

The UN pledged a large plan to implement the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip but unfortunately less than 5% of the 5.4 billion dollars pledged at the Cairo conference on

Gaza has been spent. Not one home that was destroyed in the last war has been rebuilt.

One of the major problems is the very density of the Gazan population. Such abnormal usage of the power grid creates anxiety within the grid. Sometimes if there is a crisis regarding the electricity, the crisis escalates quickly and then it can take a very long time until the power situation is stabilized.

The severity the of electricity shortages pushes the people take very dangerous decisions in order to keep warm or do basic things like cooking. One of these measures is the use of candles that have caused fires in many homes in Gaza and have taken the lives of many entire families. People are so desperate to have a well built home and some return to a strong social infrastructure, but this just seems so far away from our reality.

Another such measure Gazans are resorting to is the use of a gasoline generator. As well as their terrible noise and polluting emissions, they are also a huge fire hazard, When people try to fill these generators with fuel and are forced to use a naked flame in order to see what they are doing the benzene quickly catches fire and causes catastrophes in a matter of moments. Then when the power finally does return, these devices themselves become hazardous as the surge causes them to malfunction. If you walk through the city centre, you will find that every shop has its own noisy generator. The noise is so deafening that if you close your eyes you could believe that you are in the middle of a mill or a big factory.

During the last winter people a cousin of mine was so desperate to keep his family warm that he placed a pot of fire inside his room for almost an hour to provide some warmth for his freezing children. Then he extinguished the fire and opened the windows for some ventilation for about 5 minutes but apparently it was not enough to refresh the room’s air and oxygen During the night, his wife went to the bath but as soon as she opened the bath’s door, she fainted suddenly, fell to the floor and hit her head. Her husband went to look for her but also suffered the fate as his wife and collapsed from the fumes. They survived, but were told that they minutes from death.

Thousands of similar incidents have happened in the past ten years, so many innocent lives taken unnecessarily because people are pushed to the point of desperation.

The electricity issue is merely another tool of despair of the ongoing siege on Gaza. The lengths that people are having to resort to in order to keep warm and do basic things continues to kill daily. In addition, the electricity shortages directly affect hospitals where patients in critical conditions are being denied continuous care.

In addition, the industrial sector in Gaza is struggling to survive. The production lines just don’t have the power to run. It is unable to be productive in any real way and cannot possibly compete with the foreign industries. Electricity outages is also a large obstacle to young people’s creativity and prevents children from learning in schools, since those unfortunate to be in double shifted schools can’t even see their books as the evening draws in. Designers can’t complete their projects, translators like me can’t work and loose offers and interest. In short,

The lack of electricity impacts so crucially on the infrastructure of professional life in Gaza.

In an indirect way, people are also affected socially and psychologically due to the boredom that ensues from the absence of power in a Gazan home. People struggle to find ways to spend their time. Families and friends clash as a result of this frustration and people are run down, weary and totally fed up with the status quo.

The electricity situation is a topic of constant and urgent discussion in daily Gazan life. People are desperate for electricity as if it were breath. Indeed it is our breath, our ability to see, to work, to cook, to keep warm, to maintain communication with the rest of the world. Everywhere people are asking; ‘Is the electricity on?’, ‘When will the electricity be off in our neighborhood?’, ‘Tomorrow, will the power be off or on?’  The instability of electricity sinks the ship of one’s thoughts and plans and puts a complete and utter stop to any kind of basic progression of life.

Gazans are so tired of being labeled and treated as animals and terrorists. We want our rights as humans so very urgently. Because of the siege, we cannot leave Gaza by any means. The electricity shortages mean that it is becoming more and more difficult to ‘leave’ Gaza even electronically. We want to be able to be warm, to cook, to read, to write, to learn and to have a voice outside of these besieged walls.

Someone, please turn the light back on.

Quite simply it is horrific. We suffer the sonic booms of war jets, buzzing drones, presence of war ships, artillery fire and enemy tanks – all in an area that is only 40 KM long and 15 KM wide. Fear and terrorism are maximized because all these weapons of war are being used in such a tiny piece of land.

Because the Zionists are so powerful and omnipresent in every influential sector of society and government worldwide, they are literally allowed to massacre the people of Gaza as they feel fit despite our attempts via social media to let the world know what is happening via photographs and eye witness accounts. Everyday I and many like me, upload images of death and destruction, send out pleas for help and words of desperation but it largely falls on deaf ears.

During the current war, the Zionists have created many excuses to commit atrocities and genocide. They completely destroyed the al-Shija’eyyah neighbourhood because they claim there were a number of soldiers killed while they were invading our land. What do you expect? They are killing our people and destroying our homes. In response they pounded the neighbourhood with about 600 shells that resulted in 200 people being massacred and their bodies left decaying in the streets because we don’t have the infrastructure to deal with such destruction and loss of life. Hospitals are without power and also targets for attack, there is no army, no navy and we are in desperate need of medical supplies.

Israeli terrorists think it is acceptable to bomb our homes if they give us less than 50 seconds warning. I ask you, what could you do in 50 seconds? How far could you run? What if you have children, elderly or disabled relatives? What then?

You might wonder how they plan their targets? What you hear in the media is the claim that the targeted home belongs to a Hamas member, his relatives, friends or hosts. The drones play a major role in the act of killing and supposedly in the selection of targets. With their ever present buzzing, they create constant stress and spread the fear that there might be an imminent bombing at any time. These drones that cover the entire sky of the Gaza strip with their clever state of the art cameras which monitor everything on the ground and have a high capability of distinguishing civilians from resistance fighters (note the resistance fighters surely have the right to practice their universal right to defend the people of Gaza?) could easily spot ordinary civilians going about their daily lives or simply trying to flea and avoid them. ​But they don’t. ​With these tactics they create horror and kill anyone in their path. 

The random killing of civilians is a device to terrify us. Every single person in the Gaza

Strip feels as I do, that he or she is the next target of the Israeli bombing to be added to the already rising death toll.  We fear the escalation of their crimes, wiping whole families off the map and the use of cluster and phosphorus bombs.

The use of globally-banned weapons against civilian targets is prevalent. Banned artillery has been used against the people in the Gaza Strip, namely in Sheja’eyyah, Khuza’ah and Rafah cities leaving a large number of families massacred and entire neighbourhoods swept away. The shells contain metal marbles and projectiles.

Then there are the war jets. Their sonic booms affect mostly the children and the most vulnerable within society and spread fear and horror. 90% of the air strikes were carried out using one ton bombs that have repercussions beyond killing individual people and destroying homes. Despite this, the Zionists don’t hesitate to use them against a single civilian home in the tiny Gaza Strip. This was the most used weapon in this war with more than 4000 airstrikes.

The psychological damage ravaged by this war is uncountable. The horror that emanates from the graphic images like a headless child and has profound and prolonged psychological effects across society as a whole.

The number of dispossessed people made homeless is enormous. Around 1000 homes were completely or partially destroyed. Homes of people who have spent decades and life savings to build.

What is it like to live in Gaza? Quite simply it is horrific.

1987 was the year of the first Intifada; it was also the year of my birth. I quickly became immune to things children should never be exposed to. A

normal day for me could mean that Israeli soldiers might raid our home in the early morning. My mother was so afraid of what they may do that she would hide the kitchen knives fearing that the soldiers would slaughter us in our beds for no reason. The Israeli soldiers at that time practiced an extremely dirty way of killing children. They would lure them with biscuits laced with poison or simply detain them for no reason. We feared being detained, we feared being killed. The fear was exacerbated because the Zionist media was (and still is) so dominating that it would be a case of our word against theirs and their word would always win. 

All around me were stories of death, of broken bones, of severed heads and amputated limbs. Right from the beginning, I and all the other children around me were unable to live a ‘normal’ life. The journey to my school or playground was always one filled with anxiety and dread. From

my early years I developed psychological issues as a result of this constant stress and daily exposure to things no child should ever be exposed to.

As I grew, I started to pay attention to the world of technology. In 1995, my family bought their first computer. I immersed myself in this brave new world and it’s accompanying language, English. My knowledge of the English language blossomed from the ‘OK’, ‘Cancel,’ ‘Close’ and ‘Start’ keys. This knowledge gradually expanded to build the necessary skills and database of words until I came to understand and even speak the language well.

At school, everyday I eagerly waited for the English language period. When the teacher would ask me to read a paragraph out loud in class, I could hardly contain my excitement. I would imagine myself speaking in front of a large crowd and felt as though not just my throat and mouth +were speaking, but my whole body, nerves and veins. It was a visceral experience.

I loved to speak in the English language.

Throughout my preparatory and secondary education and at the time of the eruption of the second Intifada (September 2000), I became more aware of my surroundings in occupied Gaza. Every day of my life was about coming to terms with the reality of living with the occupation: the checkpoints, tank positions, ammunition, weapons, the destruction of homes, airstrikes, closure, restrictions, settlers and settlements, mindless killing and painful deaths and the ongoing legacy of grief.

This period saw also saw the effects of this highly unstable environment on my life. I began to experience nightmares and suffer from anxiety. The instability in Gaza was reflected in the instability in my head.

After the Israeli occupation forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, they claimed that the occupation of the territory was over and that they were no longer responsible for what happens inside the Strip. But in reality, all they did was to transform their occupation into a deadly and brutal siege of the people of Gaza from all sides – from the air and the three directions (east, north and the naval blockade from the west).  In addition, the Egyptian regime led by former president Hosni Mubarak took the responsibility for the siege from the south by closing the Rafah Crossing and destroying the tunnels that were providing the people of Gaza with vital supplies of products that were blocked by the Israelis.

Hamas won the elections in 2006. Hamas in brief, is a party (as well as the other Palestinian parties) that is genuinely seeking the liberation of Palestine from the Israeli occupation, which was imposed by the British Mandate and with the false authorization of Arthur Balfour.

Hamas, despite being democratically elected by the people of Gaza in legitimate elections, were not accepted by the U.S. and the Israeli occupation. Conditions worsened under the siege. They tried to either bring Hamas to its knees or push the people of Gaza to reject them.

In 2007, the fighters of the military wing of Hamas clashed with the fighters of the rival party Fatah. Fatah backed the security arrangements controlled by the Israeli occupation and used them as a tool to crush Hamas. They provided intelligence information about the fighters of Hamas‘ military wing so that the Israelis could assassinate them later.

The clashes resulted in the end of Fatah’s power in the Gaza Strip and they fled to the West Bank. This was used as an additional excuse for the Israeli occupation, the U.S. and their Arab allies, to tighten the siege on the Gaza Strip even further.

After Fatah left Gaza, daily life became completely paralysed and the people had no choice but to concentrate on finding food and water, keeping a roof over their heads and simply surviving. This hidden goal of the siege, namely the crippling of Palestinian intellect and progression, has continued to affect me personally.

Not being able to practice the English language freely and travel (I have never left Gaza) creates huge stress and anxiety for me. I feel as though I am trapped, that I cannot realize my potential or develop any further. My oppressors control my life; my future is in their hands. This cruel truth leaves me crippled and frustrated.

I studied my bachelor degree at a local university in Gaza. Unfortunately my studies were very dull due to a variety of factors. Namely, the lack of enthusiasm of lecturers, lack of native speakers and those three quarters of the four-year study were spent concentrating on ‘compulsory’ subjects that were not even related to the English language.

Learning any profession is a waste of time without finding a way to practice.

With no native speakers to learn from, no ability to travel, I felt as though I was a piece of food, preserved indefinitely inside the freezer. The English language in besieged Gaza is not so useful.

Because we have been forced to focus on the very basic things most people worldwide take for granted such as electricity, water, food and safety, people have forgot about advancing themselves. The siege largely put a stop to people making progress in their lives. I constantly wonder where and whom I might be if my universal human rights weren’t flouted on a daily basis.

Being complimented for my good English over conversations had on Facebook or Skype is no compensation for the pain in the knowledge that I am daily deprived from utilizing my intellectual potential. I am unable to improve my life and more importantly the lives of people in my country.

A significant turning point in my life came during the Israeli war against Gaza in 2009. At the time the war began, I was on my way to attend a lecture at my university. I was standing at a taxi stop and suddenly a very powerful air strike hit directly opposite and very close to me. I was shocked to the core, my face turned burned, my mind and body trembled. I hurried immediately back home where I remained for 23 days. This war was to be incredibly deadly with the Israeli forces using world-banned weapons including cluster and white phosphorus bombs.

The stress that the 2009 war ignited in me with the impact of that bomb was far reaching. My mental health deteriorated and I was plagued by insomnia, experienced many different manifestations of anxiety and generally could not shake the feeling that perhaps it was impossible to achieve anything in this life but to wait to be killed by the terrorist Israelis.

I just couldn’t understand how the world could be so blind to our plight. It didn’t seem to matter how many Palestinians were killed, how much land was seized illegally, how many people were arrested, killed, made to suffer or made homeless. The reality was that NO ONE DOES ANYTHING. The feeling of desolation and desperation from this feeling of abandonment haunts me still. It is a feeling of suffocation, of gasping for air.

Israeli Occupation is just ugly, dirty and brutal. It hasn’t just robbed us of our land, but our lives, our happiness, our freedom. Freedom in every sense of the word – freedom of movement, of education, of the ability to create our own future. Everything the Israelis do is designed to make us flee our land, leave our home and abandon what is rightfully ours.

This year, the Israeli terrorist forces resorted to imposing the conditions of a massive concentration camp on the residents of the Gaza Strip. The destruction and killing in this war toppled the figures recorded in the last two wars in 2009 and 2012 with 2146 martyrs, 10,000+ injured along with a huge number of destroyed homes, schools, hospitals and mosques. The massive economic losses have set us back maybe 20 years. The Israelis want us to yield and comply. They expect us to live like animals – not asking for anything but food and water. To the extent that this current siege is known as the “Calories Siege” meaning that our oppressors have counted the amount of calories required to keep us alive and only allow this amount of food in. Their game is to wait until we are very close to dying of hunger and drought, then they allow very limited amounts of food and water in so that we are brought back into life until we run out of them again.

I am a young man who has lived through three wars, whose nerves are shattered and hopes of a future speaking the language I have fought to learn, are distant. Can anyone tell me that things are really going to change in my lifetime? Can anyone hear my voice?

My only hope is that with the advent of social media and alternative press agencies, the Zionist propaganda media machine will not always win. Their lies will not always be believed and people may start to hear the truth about what is happening in Gaza. The truth about a suffocating peoples — people hungry for the world, hungry for their future, hungry for their voices and most importantly for the truth to be heard and to be believed.