tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post5112649261441190881..comments2024-01-28T03:56:39.351-08:00Comments on TOM CLARK: Love SongsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-41278765329033420962015-02-15T17:00:49.596-08:002015-02-15T17:00:49.596-08:00Meanwhile, for a bit of sad fact, here is the repo...Meanwhile, for a bit of sad fact, here is the report filed by Anne Paq and Basel Yazouri along with their file of photos for MEE: <br />__<br /><br />Anne Paq and Basel Yazouri<br />Middle East Eye, 13 February 2015 12:45 GMT<br /><br />The Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip, already in a very dire humanitarian situation, have been hit with a major sand storm and heavy winds for the past two days.<br /><br />The storm especially affected the tens of thousands of Palestinians who lost their homes during last summer's Israeli offensive which destroyed 18,000 housing units. Six months after the truce, many displaced Palestinians have been staying in shelters or damaged homes and are getting increasingly frustrated by the lack of rebuilding on the ground. UNOCHA indicates that "although by early January 2015, nearly 40,000 individuals had been granted authorisation to purchase construction materials restricted under the Israeli blockade, less than 40 percent of them have actually purchased materials."<br /><br />This is primarily due to financial constraints. According to UNRWA, 11,000 displaced Palestinians still live in schools, which are not equipped to face harsh weather conditions, nor host so many people for such a long period of time.<br /><br />In Shujayeha, Eyad and Motaaz Helles, both brothers and owners of a three-story building that was completely destroyed last summer, had to borrow money to build a modest one-story house that is not large enough to house the 25 members of the family.<br /><br />Eyad said: "Our home was built by our father forty years ago, my brother just added another floor 3 months ago. We had to flee with nothing but our lives. Now the situation is unbearable. The building is so expensive, and we had to borrow money. We want the rebuilding process to be faster."<br /><br />The work on the house continues despite the storm because they want to move in as soon as possible.<br /><br />The effect of the storm and bad weather is also felt by Hekmmat Shamali, 50, mother of 14 children. She lives together with more than 20 members of her family in a large tent covered by plastic sheeting in Shujayeha.<br /><br />She said this about the living conditions: "This is terrible. All the children are sick with coughing or skin disease. When it is raining we have water inside, and with the strong wind, we cannot sleep due to the noise. We have no electricity, nor water, and we cannot use the heaters because we are afraid of starting a fire."<br /><br />Ghada Shamali, 18, adds: "The situation is very bad. People were patient until now, but when we heard that UNRWA will stop their support, we lost our patience."TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-59458174213795372212015-02-15T17:00:05.953-08:002015-02-15T17:00:05.953-08:00Abdal-Hayy,
Gaza having now been formally elimina...Abdal-Hayy,<br /><br />Gaza having now been formally eliminated from the designated areas of media concern, it's only major events there in recent days and weeks that have stirred a few major news outlets to turn and look again. The WAPO Jerusalem correspondent, William Booth, a veteran of the regional conflicts, yesterday filed what I guess would be called a "sobering account", in which he reported that after all the years of suffering and resilience and steadfastness, Gaza now appears to be at the point of collapse. No electricity, no water, no entry, no exit, and now a crippling assault of storms, the air charged with sand and dust, flooded streets. The famous relief donations have largely failed to materialize, and in any case the Israeli restrictions continue to frustrate attempts to bring in such dangerous things as building supplies. And of course the Israelis have been consistent in one purpose all along -- to efface, eradicate, "neutralize" Gaza forever. As the toll in suffering continues to grow, any rose-coloured vision of a future in which these people who have been forgotten by history somehow become miraculously able to forgive and forget must seem not only unrealistic, but downright foolish. The Machiavelli principle -- treat a subject people kindly, or else kill them all -- looks more and more apt. Bibi's current opponent for the position of top cop is making it a straight-up campaign promise: elect me, and the IDF will be back in Gaza tomorrow, and this time we'll really finish the job.TChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915822857461178942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4445844569294316288.post-42840070036508497562015-02-15T10:08:09.162-08:002015-02-15T10:08:09.162-08:00Thank you as always for these harrowing reality-sh...Thank you as always for these harrowing reality-shots... bringing up close what all our media hopes to keep very far away... and our policies... Where's Life Magazine when we need it! Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05692776372807142753noreply@blogger.com