Dec. 1, 2008 (World News Trust) -- 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 Nov. "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 Nov., "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 Nov., 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 percent 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.
Ramzy
Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net) is an author and editor of
PalestineChronicle.com. His work has been published in many newspapers,
journals and anthologies around the world. His latest book is The
Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a People's Struggle (Pluto
Press, London).