The Gaza salvationHope is eternal, but so too appears the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, writes Ramzy Baroud* When Gaza's electricity is in working order, most Palestinians in the impoverished and overcrowded Strip huddle around their television screens. It's neither "American Idol" nor "Dancing with the Stars" that brings them together. It's the news. Gazans' relationship to news media is both complex and unique. Like most Palestinians everywhere, they intently watch and listen to news broadcasts the world over, with the hope that salvation will arrive in the form of a news bulletin. Evidently, salvation is yet to be aired. That infatuation is hardly coincidental, however, as their purpose of reading, listening and watching is unmistakable. Palestinians deeply care about what the rest of the world is saying about their plight and struggle. Most importantly, they wonder if anyone out there cares. During the first Intifada's long and harsh Israeli military curfews in Gaza, my family would gather around a small radio, always nervous that the batteries would die, leaving us with a total news blackout; a horrible scenario by Gaza's standards. The Israeli army used to habitually cut off electricity and water for whatever refugee camp that was targeted for a crackdown. The practice persists to this day in Gaza, but on a much larger scale, where fuel is denied, food and medical supplies are alarmingly scarce, and water generators are in a pitiable state. So-called collective punishment has always been the pinnacle of Israel's policy towards the miserable Strip. Some things never change. Regardless, somehow Gaza miraculously manages. The people of that tiny stretch of land find ways to cope with their ample tragedies, as they did the moment the first caravan of refugees, parched and desperate, made their way into Gaza following the 1948 Nakba. They weep for their loss, bury their dead, ask God for mercy, and, once again, return home to huddle around their radios, seeking a glimpse of hope in news broadcasts. Today, their trust, or lack thereof in any news station depends largely on whether that particular station is committed to articulating their suffering and tragedy, as it is seen from their viewpoint, not that of an Israeli army's spokesperson; thus their love-hate relationship with major news networks like the BBC, Voice of America and others. Although most Palestinians in Gaza find Al-Jazeera network most understanding to their plight, they can never forgive it for providing a platform for Israeli government and army officials. Still, most Palestinians tune in to Al-Jazeera as a trustworthy outlet whenever tragedy strikes, and it often does. News from Gaza and news about Gaza has hardly ever been as grim as it is these days. Every single day, there are statements attributed to UN officials and human rights organisations, decrying the siege on Gaza, the strangulation of a whole population, and the deafening silence of the international community towards what is now perceived as the world's most pressing humanitarian catastrophe. Palestinians in Gaza listen ever intently. They hope, although apprehensively, that perhaps the United States will pressure Israel to ease its siege, to allow medical access for the terminally ill, to restore fuel supplies. Yet day after day, the situation worsens and little is done to rectify the injustice. When international officials, such as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- Moon or former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson call on Israel to ease or end the sanctions on Gaza, Gazans move a bit closer to their televisions. They insist on believing that Israel will eventually heed the calls, but always to no avail. It was "almost unbelievable" that the world did not care about "a shocking violation of so many human rights" in Gaza, said Robinson, who is also former president of Ireland, as reported on the BBC 4 November. "Their whole civilisation has been destroyed, I'm not exaggerating," she said. On that same day, Israel moved into Gaza with the intent of provoking a fight and ending the shaky truce with Hamas, which has largely held since June. The army killed six Palestinians and wounded three. John Ging, director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, told The Washington Post 15 November, "This is a disastrous situation, and it's getting worse and worse... It is unprecedented that the UN is unable to get its supplies in to a population under such obvious distress; many of these families have been subsisting on this ration for years, and they are living hand-to-mouth." Since then, on 20 November, the same official reported that Israel reversed a decision to let 70 truckloads of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Philip Luther of Amnesty International decried "Israel's latest tightening of its blockade [which] has made an already dire humanitarian situation markedly worse." "Chronic malnutrition is on a steadily rising trend and micronutrient deficiencies are of great concern," said a leaked report by the Red Cross, as reported in The Independent. The report said that Israeli restrictions are causing "progressive deterioration in food security for up to 70 per cent of Gaza's population". Gazans are still flipping through the channels and cranking the radio dials, left and right, as these calls continue to fall on deaf ears. They wonder why their plight is not treated with the same urgency as that of the Red Sea piracy or even that of eastern Congo, despite the fact that their misery has perpetuated for generations, and is worsening. They also pass by Arabic channels and wonder about the seemingly never-ending party, while Gaza has been reduced to total desolation. They listen to Fatah and Hamas officials spewing insults and fighting over government positions that don't exist and territories that hold no sovereignty. They shake their heads in dismay and carry on, for perhaps tomorrow will bring with it some good news -- for once. /NA |
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Holding Gaza hostageGaza's humanitarian crisis escalates as the world watches in silence. Dina Ezzat reports from Cairo, Saleh Al-Naami from Gaza
As Al-Ahram Weekly went to press Wednesday Arab foreign ministers were convening for an extraordinary meeting against the backdrop of an explosive humanitarian crisis in Gaza where 1.5 million Palestinians are suffering the effects of Israel's 22-day long blockade. Gaza's population has been systematically deprived of electricity, medicine, medical supplies, fuel and food. Over the past week Arab TV news channels have been transmitting live footage of the human tragedy, including scenes of critically ill Palestinians awaiting treatment in Gaza's hospitals pleading with the Arabs, and not Israel, for "mercy". One elderly woman suffering from heart disease and diabetes asked Al-Jazeera on Monday: "We are Muslims, why are the Arabs leaving us to die? Why isn't Egypt opening the [Rafah] borders?" But in Cairo Arab foreign ministers are unlikely to offer anything of substance to the Palestinians. Diplomats who spoke to the Weekly on condition of anonymity say there are three reasons why the Cairo meeting will end with little meaningful help being offered to Gaza. First is the reluctance of the Palestinian Authority to solicit Arab support. "The issue has become strictly Fatah versus Hamas," commented one Cairo- based Arab diplomat. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of Fatah, will interpret Arab support for Gaza as indirect support for Hamas. In the words of another Arab diplomatic source: "Abbas does not want Arabs to even talk to Hamas. He was furious when [Arab League Secretary-General Amr] Moussa met with [Hamas leader Khaled] Meshaal in Damascus on the fringe of Arab League meetings." Abbas, the source suggested, complained to Cairo and Amman that Moussa was lending credence to Hamas at a time when Hamas should be forced to submit to Fatah. Abbas has reportedly demanded that the PA, and not the Hamas government in Gaza, be credited for any assistance advanced to Palestinians living in the Strip. Otherwise, he argues, Hamas will emerge the victor. The second problem is Egypt's reluctance to unilaterally open the Rafah Crossing, the only link Gaza has with the outside world that is not under Israeli control, for humanitarian assistance. The Rafah Crossing, says Cairo, is designed for the passage of individuals not commodities and it can only be operated after the PA, which left Gaza under Hamas control in the summer of 2007, returns to the Strip. This, Egypt argues, could have been achieved through the national reconciliation it was trying to mediate earlier this month but which Hamas abandoned after complaining Abbas was harassing its members in the West Bank and that the mediation process was biased towards Fatah. Egyptian officials now say it is up to Hamas to end Gaza's misery, first by suspending Qassam rocket attacks against Israeli targets and denying the Israeli government any pretext to impose a blockade and then by pursuing national reconciliation that will allow for the Palestinian Authority to return to Gaza and the Rafah Crossing to be reopened. The third reason the Arab foreign ministers meeting yesterday at the Cairo-based headquarters of the Arab League will fail to reach any agreement on a rescue package is that even those Arab countries sympathetic to Hamas and supportive of a more inclusive approach to Palestinian decision-making, remain unwilling to confront Cairo over the need to open Rafah. "It is a matter of Egyptian sovereignty and there is not much we can do," said one Syrian diplomatic source. The most that can be expected from the meeting is a resolution blaming Israel for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip but containing no retaliatory measures against Tel Aviv should it continue with the siege. As one senior Hamas source said, "when the Palestinian Authority is encouraging the siege and coordinating with Israel it is hard to expect other Arab countries to worry much about the Palestinians". The Wednesday meeting is certain to call for continued reconciliation efforts and demand that the incoming US administration prioritise a final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the lives of thousands of Palestinians are threatened. Palestinian Health Minister Bassem Naim told the Weekly that recurrent power cuts have paralysed health services and death "on a large scale" is expected. Central oxygen supply stations catering to the needs of patients with respiratory problems are barely operational. Sterilisation equipment for surgeries no longer functions and pasteurisation machines for milk are no longer operational. The entire system of intensive care in Palestinian hospitals is on the verge of collapse. Israel opened border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Monday, allowing in limited amounts of food and fuel for the second time in three weeks after the United Nations warned of a looming humanitarian crisis. Aid groups say the one-day shipment will have minimal impact because border crossings have been closed for so long, depleting reserves of everything from flour to animal feed. "It is just not enough," says Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Gunness reports that UNRWA cannot function normally without a steady stream of supplies, not only food but books for schoolchildren, also blocked by Israel for weeks. Israel first imposed its siege on Gaza after the power struggle between Hamas and Fatah resulted in Hamas's takeover over of the Strip in June 2007. The aim of the siege is ostensibly to weaken Hamas and remove it from power yet it is Gaza residents who daily pay the price of an increasingly deadly political equation. /NA |
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Food for thought
Take five and read all of this. It sets of a lot of thinking about saving one's own community. /SK
Calling All Pakistanis
On Feb. 6, 2006, three Pakistanis died in Peshawar and Lahore during violent street protests against Danish cartoons that had satirized the Prophet Muhammad. More such mass protests followed weeks later. When Pakistanis and other Muslims are willing to take to the streets, even suffer death, to protest an insulting cartoon published in Denmark, is it fair to ask: Who in the Muslim world, who in Pakistan, is ready to take to the streets to protest the mass murders of real people, not cartoon characters, right next door in Mumbai?
the courage of a woman
she joined the group a week after the beginning of the seminar on journalism and democracy .we were all waiting for her to arrive .each time we were told she is still at rafah ""barrier "".katarina has been changing her flight for several times until she succeeded to cross the barrier of shame.before i met her in the early morning in the kitchen ,i was expecting to see an a bitter and angry person but i was surprised to find in front of me a joyful and happy women .she spoke about her 5 day experience at rafah as if she was speaking about an excursion .no complains ,no bitterness .she was even making jokes about the troubles she has faced at the frontiers .
before we left sweeden she was afraid she would face the same problem .she was longing to meet her children she was missing too much .we spend the last day together at Radisson hotel ,went out ;took pictures played with the snow ......at 3 pm we said good bye to each other and then Adnan who was the last to leave accompanied her with samia to the airport . when he returned back he told me samia has left but ola's flight was cancelled .I really felt sorry for her i said to myself ""it is the begining of the troubles "".the algerian group flight to frankfort was at 7 pm .I headed to the airoport 2 hours before, I looked for her every where but i dindn't find her ......but my surprise was great when i learnt that ola was taking the same plane as me .Instead of complaining about her flight being cancelled ,she said with her usual laugh , i'am happy this happend to meet you again .We 've laughed and joked all along the flight and again we said good bye to each other at frankfort airoport...
Now after many days of waiting , of suffering ,of hope and despair ola is finally among her family .her children who have been deprived of their mother have now the right to be happy despite electricity cuts and so on .ola finally succeeded to cross the barrier of shame and entered the big prison of gaza strip .have you ever seen somebody happy to go back to the prison !!!! compared to other palestinians Ola is lucky because she had the apportunity to get out of this prison and breath some fresh air what about her besieged fellow citizens who are daily strugglingto stay alive ???
I hail ,and we should all hail your courage and your perseverence OLA , the courage of a mother , of a woman, of a journalist and mainly the courage of a human being who has the right to be considered as such ....... Ola may all your days be happy ...keep on smiling ...
ouarda lebnane
before we left sweeden she was afraid she would face the same problem .she was longing to meet her children she was missing too much .we spend the last day together at Radisson hotel ,went out ;took pictures played with the snow ......at 3 pm we said good bye to each other and then Adnan who was the last to leave accompanied her with samia to the airport . when he returned back he told me samia has left but ola's flight was cancelled .I really felt sorry for her i said to myself ""it is the begining of the troubles "".the algerian group flight to frankfort was at 7 pm .I headed to the airoport 2 hours before, I looked for her every where but i dindn't find her ......but my surprise was great when i learnt that ola was taking the same plane as me .Instead of complaining about her flight being cancelled ,she said with her usual laugh , i'am happy this happend to meet you again .We 've laughed and joked all along the flight and again we said good bye to each other at frankfort airoport...
Now after many days of waiting , of suffering ,of hope and despair ola is finally among her family .her children who have been deprived of their mother have now the right to be happy despite electricity cuts and so on .ola finally succeeded to cross the barrier of shame and entered the big prison of gaza strip .have you ever seen somebody happy to go back to the prison !!!! compared to other palestinians Ola is lucky because she had the apportunity to get out of this prison and breath some fresh air what about her besieged fellow citizens who are daily strugglingto stay alive ???
I hail ,and we should all hail your courage and your perseverence OLA , the courage of a mother , of a woman, of a journalist and mainly the courage of a human being who has the right to be considered as such ....... Ola may all your days be happy ...keep on smiling ...
ouarda lebnane
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Citizen of the world
Erasmus, done as installation by Marie-Jo Lafontaine at Stockholm
Airport, in multilinguistic treatment. Brilliant and fitting for an
airport. A place where people are sedentarily transient....
Monday, December 1, 2008
Kurdistan's press pays for tackling corruption
The Financial Times - By Fnna Fifield07/11/2008 00:00:00
(Suleimaniya) - To promote freedom of the press and provoke social and political change, reporters are not shying away from stories of state corruption.
(Suleimaniya) - To promote freedom of the press and provoke social and political change, reporters are not shying away from stories of state corruption.
For three nights out of every 14, Ahmed Mira does not sleep at home. He no longer walks on the street either, nor does he drive his own car anywhere. Such is the life of an independent magazine editor in Kurdistan, the northern Iraqi province where journalists say they are coming under increasing pressure not to write about government corruption.
"We are proud of not having red lines, of crossing the boundaries and touching the most sensitive issues," says Mr Mira, editor of Lvin ("Movement"), a fortnightly magazine that has homed in on corrupt officials.
Such pride comes at a high price. One of Lvin's reporters, 23-year-old Soran Mama Hama, was gunned down outside his home in Kirkuk in July, shortly after writing about police links to a prostitution ring. His picture now adorns every wall and door in the Lvin office.
Freedom of the press does not seem to reign supreme"Soran received threatening messages for three months before he was killed," says Mr Mira, who also receives such calls, almost daily. Now, he stays elsewhere immediately following publication to try to avoid becoming a target at home.
While democratic Kurdistan is often heralded as a role model for the rest of Iraq, the government - or more specifically, the two parties that run almost every facet of life in the semi-autonomous region - are regularly accused of shady practices.
Lvin, circulation 25,000, and independent Kurdish newspapers including Hawlati, Awene and Rozhnama are leading the charge. Much more so than the rest of Iraq, Kurdistan has a lively independent press seeking to offer an alternative news diet.
"Our role is to bring about political change in this society," Mr Mira says in his office in Suleimaniya.
"We will try to change as much as we can, including the two corrupt political parties who monopolise everything," he says, referring to the Kurdistan Democratic party, which is headed by Masoud Barzani, the regional president, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, led by Jalal Talabani, the president of Iraq. Mr Mira says he is most proud of publishing stories about Mr Barzani's official residence, which the magazine said was as secretive as an aircraft's black box recorder, and another entitled "The Sick Man", about Mr Talabani's health.
Questions of loyalty and patriotism
The latter story led to Mr Mira spending 13 hours in prison, accused of being a traitor. Independent Kurdish papers say they are coming under increasing pressure not to write such "unpatriotic" stories. Mr Barzani recently told editors not to write about corruption generally but rather to report specific details of specific cases, and to have the documents to back up their claims, according to three editors at the meeting.
"We will go on reporting corruption cases and the games that the political parties play to try to silence us," says Karam Rahim, editor of Hawlati, the biggest independent paper in Kurdistan, who says he told the president he would not desist. Hawlati ("Citizen"), which reaches more than 50,000 people each week, has been sued 35 times over stories about corruption.
"We are working to make sure that corruption does not become a habit among our people, and we are working to improve our society so it becomes more open minded and modern," Mr Rahim says.
American officials in Iraq are concerned about recent attempts to clamp down on the Kurdish press.
"There have been a number of instances in the past six months in which reporters have been harassed, detained, pressurised not to write about corruption," says a senior US official in Baghdad. "Sometimes we really question the [regional government's] commitment to a truly democratic Kurdistan."
Government denial of claims
The government denies suggestions it is corrupt or undemocratic, and the president's office refutes claims it is putting pressure on any media outlets.
"There is no official pressure," says Fuad Hussein, the president's chief of staff. "The president told the editors that it's their right to publish about corruption but that when they accuse someone they should have proof.
"They should not make black into white," Mr Hussein told the Financial Times. This was advice not pressure, he added.
Regardless, Judit Neurink, a Dutch journalist who runs the Independent Media Centre in Suleimaniya, training Kurdish journalists, says the non-state press is certainly "stirring things up".
"Independent media are necessary in this country to open up a few more eyes to what is really happening," Ms Neurink says, although she sometimes has difficulty convincing reporters of the difference between "freedom of the press" and fiction.
Mr Mira, for one, says he will not waver. "Yes, of course it is very difficult," he shrugs, "but we must not bow to the pressure from the government."
Pregnant journalist lost her baby as attacked by security forces
• KurdishMedia.com - By Mohammed Ali
• 27/11/2008 00:00:00
London (KurdishMedia.com) 27 November 2008: A Kurdish journalist lost her baby as she was attacked by the security forces, Asayish, reported the committee for the protection of Kurdistan's Journalists (CPKJ) this earlier this week.
On 21 November 2008, Asayish, the Kurdish security forces, in the Kurdistan governorate of Sulemani raided the residential home of a Kurdish woman journalist, Mrs Banaz Ali Noori, reported CPKJ.
During the raid by Asayish, her husband was arrested and Mrs Noori lost her baby by miscourage due to the trauma of the raid. She was four month pregnant, CPKJ stated.
The Committee to Protect of Kurdistan's Journalists has strongly condemned the raid and the arrest. The Committee states, "while in Kurdistan, there is a week-long campaign to promote women's rights, the Assaish of Sulemani ill-treats a female journalist and uses violence against her."
"The perpetrators of the attack should be arrested and face trial immediately," CPKJ added.
• 27/11/2008 00:00:00
London (KurdishMedia.com) 27 November 2008: A Kurdish journalist lost her baby as she was attacked by the security forces, Asayish, reported the committee for the protection of Kurdistan's Journalists (CPKJ) this earlier this week.
On 21 November 2008, Asayish, the Kurdish security forces, in the Kurdistan governorate of Sulemani raided the residential home of a Kurdish woman journalist, Mrs Banaz Ali Noori, reported CPKJ.
During the raid by Asayish, her husband was arrested and Mrs Noori lost her baby by miscourage due to the trauma of the raid. She was four month pregnant, CPKJ stated.
The Committee to Protect of Kurdistan's Journalists has strongly condemned the raid and the arrest. The Committee states, "while in Kurdistan, there is a week-long campaign to promote women's rights, the Assaish of Sulemani ill-treats a female journalist and uses violence against her."
"The perpetrators of the attack should be arrested and face trial immediately," CPKJ added.
Posted By Adnan to MENA El AMAN at 11/30/2008
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