The last time I read this heart-breaking poem, written by Khaled Juma as a tribute to Gaza’s children, was two years ago, when the large-scale bloodshed in the Gaza-Israel conflict came to an end. Noting the approximate 1500 civilian casualties and 500,000 displacements (x), the dilapidated schools, homes and hospitals, the astonishing 44% unemployment rate and the continuously collapsing economy in Gaza (x), it is appropriate to say all h*ll broke loose during the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, which has barely been tidied up.
Gaza Strip could become “uninhabitable” by 2020. -UN
In a report published by the United Nations in 2015, it is warned that “the Gaza strip could become uninhabitable by 2020 if the current economic conditions persist” (x). The three military operations in Gaza over the past six years, the slow rate of rebuilding, bailing international donors, along with the Israel-imposed restrictions on Gaza’s imports [as Israel’s strategy to fight off terrorism], are hindering development in Gaza (x). In 2015, a senior UN official said that at the current rate of reconstruction, it would take 30 years to rebuild Gaza’s damaged infrastructure(x). The living conditions of Gazans prove to be perhaps equally worse, with 95% of their drinking water labelled as unsafe (x) 13,000 families still displaced (x), and 300,000 in need of psychosocial support (x).
Are world leaders waiting for 2020 to arrive or the next deadly conflict, in order to begin taking concrete actions to help secure the future of Gaza’s innocent?
Also, will helping to secure the future of Palestinians equate to threatening the future of Israel, or will it help to ease the frustration and tension between the two nations?
Background: Gaza, Palestine – A small strip of land between present-day Israel and Egypt, home to about 1.8 million people. Palestine has suffered through serious geographical struggles, the land being reduced over the years as a result of historical quarrels between neighboring countries and today, to the building of illegal Israeli settlements. The tension and frustration between Israel and Palestine is always on a rise, largely as a result of Palestinian resentment regarding the growing number of illegal Israeli settlements and the strong Israel-imposed restrictions, regulations, and influence over significant societal and economic factors, such as imports, exports, travel, and fishing borders- factors important for the growth and development of a nation and its society.
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