Gazans Endure Tough Situation During Ramadan

By Saleh Jadallah GAZA CITY (Palestine), July 30 (Bernama) -- As warm weather and widespread power outages strike the Gaza Strip this scorching summer, Palestinians welcome the holy month of Ramadan with different tastes. Candles adorn their food dishes as they break their Iftar (breaking of the fast) while a few people run their mobile generators. At the Iftar and Sahur (pre-dawn meal) times when everything turns quiet, the piercing sounds of these generators are heard in almost every town and camp. Palestinians in Gaza have been spending one-third of their days without electricity since Israel imposed its blockade on Gaza in 2006, after Hamas won parliamentary elections. Construction worker Abu Khaled Abu Arab believes the situation in his camp is unbearable and unfit for human beings. Living in a stuffy dwelling in the Shatii refugee camp, home to 65,000 refugees, this man and his five children need to have their Ramadan meals quickly before sitting outside their homes. At least, he finds fresh air outside his modest home to escape the scorching heat inside his two-room-shack. "We cannot run fans because the power has been cut. There are no signs of life here. During the Iftar time, we have to wipe off our sweat, instead of enjoying the food," he said. As with many people, Abu Khaled, 43, cannot run his generator since he does not have sufficient money to purchase fuel. "Fuel is very expensive now, and I need to save money to satisfy the basic demands of my family," he said, referring to the fuel crisis in the narrow enclave. Fuel prices are double what they were last year, and a crisis arose when Egyptian authorities decided to reduce the amount of fuel brought to Gaza, through smuggling tunnels beneath the Rafah border with neighbouring Egypt. The intolerable heat inside the houses located in densely-populated areas encouraged hundreds of thousands to come to a spot in the vicinity of the Mediterranean sea, off the Gaza coast, where families have erected tents. To the Gazans, the beach is the only limited privilege they have in their area where all life is controlled by their bitter enemy -- the Israeli occupation. At sunset, Sayed Murad started to prepare his Iftar along with his family. He manages to always have food for Ramadan, even when power is not available in his home. Sayed's children feel very excited about having food on the beach, a step they believe will reduce their frustrations. "Having Iftar on the beach is much better than home. At home, we feel a sense of torture because we have no power, no light and no fan," said Sayed's eldest son, Ahmed, 12. -- BERNAMA