A Stranded Palestinian Family
18 July 2007
by Rami Almeghari
My wife and I are stranded, just like thousands of Palestinians since the closure of the Rafah crossing terminal in mid-June.
Palestinians stranded at the Rafah Terminal
Further Reading:
by Rami Almeghari
My wife and I are stranded, just like thousands of Palestinians since the closure of the Rafah crossing terminal in mid-June.
Palestinians stranded at the Rafah Terminal We are now staying closer to Gaza, where we have lived since childhood. The destination this time is not Cairo; rather, it's the coastal town of Al-Arish, now that my wife has completed her treatment in the Egyptian capital.
On the evening of July 7, 2007, we smiled cheerfully for the first time in a month, the length of my wife's hospitalization in Cairo, as the doctor assured us she "can leave the hospital well now."
The first thing I thought of was, of course, heading back to Gaza, where our beloved four children, along with other family members, have been awaiting anxiously for us to return.
All an ordinary traveler needs to do is book tickets, but we, as two Gazans, cannot do the same, simply because our airport has been closed by Israel since 2000. More recently, it was further damaged by Israeli tanks.
Another means of travel is the Rafah border crossing, but Israel has kept this crossing closed for the past five weeks, a fact that would have prevented me from moving, thinking or even enjoying that 'happy moment'. But, I had another idea: to move to the crossing closest to our hometown of Gaza. The next day, we traveled to Al-Arish, about 45 km away from Gaza, hoping we could cross the border as soon as possible to return to our lives.
However, we have been stranded here for ten days. Al -Arish's golden sandy beach, palm trees or even lit streets could not and will never equal the loss of a single moment with our kids.
Aseel, my ten-year-old daughter, spoke to us by phone, asking "Dad, when are you coming? We are fed up, we want you back," with deep sighs clearly apparent in her voice.
We withheld our own sighs and I spoke to her very quietly, saying, "Aseel, my darling, we are coming soon. Just take care of your brothers and sister, especially Mohammad as you are the eldest, and wish your mom a speedy recovery". Mohammad is an eight-month old baby, by the way.
1.4 million Palestinians, including my family, live in the coastal region of the Gaza Strip, which is only 40 km long and approximately 10 km wide. All of us have only one outlet to the outside world: the Rafah crossing terminal, to the south of Gaza.
Despite the fact that Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, and despite U.S-brokered arrangements to run the crossing with the help of European observers, Israel continuously closed the crossing, to the extent that in 2006 alone, the terminal's actual working days totaled only one-fifth of its normal operation hours.
A couple of days ago, United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, called on Israel to reopen all Palestinian crossings in order to avert a humanitarian crisis.
Unfortunately, the crisis has already started. The Egyptian Red Crescent Society has provided blankets, food stuffs and medications to hundreds of stranded Palestinians, who have run out of money or even personal belongings, but their patience has run out as well.
Along with these trapped people, there are about 5,000 Palestinians, 20 percent of whom are patients, who choose to stay in other nearby Egyptian border towns like Sheikh Zweaiyed, Egyptian Rafah and Al-Arish, where we preferred to stay, "only for my wife's health condition."
Twenty-eight stranded patients have lost their lives at the border since the crisis began in June, according to Palestinian health ministry records.
The Rafah crossing terminal is situated on the border line between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, which my wife and I might leave soon to get assistance from helpful people or to enter Gaza… who knows?
On the evening of July 7, 2007, we smiled cheerfully for the first time in a month, the length of my wife's hospitalization in Cairo, as the doctor assured us she "can leave the hospital well now."
The first thing I thought of was, of course, heading back to Gaza, where our beloved four children, along with other family members, have been awaiting anxiously for us to return.
All an ordinary traveler needs to do is book tickets, but we, as two Gazans, cannot do the same, simply because our airport has been closed by Israel since 2000. More recently, it was further damaged by Israeli tanks.
Another means of travel is the Rafah border crossing, but Israel has kept this crossing closed for the past five weeks, a fact that would have prevented me from moving, thinking or even enjoying that 'happy moment'. But, I had another idea: to move to the crossing closest to our hometown of Gaza. The next day, we traveled to Al-Arish, about 45 km away from Gaza, hoping we could cross the border as soon as possible to return to our lives.
However, we have been stranded here for ten days. Al -Arish's golden sandy beach, palm trees or even lit streets could not and will never equal the loss of a single moment with our kids.
Aseel, my ten-year-old daughter, spoke to us by phone, asking "Dad, when are you coming? We are fed up, we want you back," with deep sighs clearly apparent in her voice.
We withheld our own sighs and I spoke to her very quietly, saying, "Aseel, my darling, we are coming soon. Just take care of your brothers and sister, especially Mohammad as you are the eldest, and wish your mom a speedy recovery". Mohammad is an eight-month old baby, by the way.
1.4 million Palestinians, including my family, live in the coastal region of the Gaza Strip, which is only 40 km long and approximately 10 km wide. All of us have only one outlet to the outside world: the Rafah crossing terminal, to the south of Gaza.
Despite the fact that Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, and despite U.S-brokered arrangements to run the crossing with the help of European observers, Israel continuously closed the crossing, to the extent that in 2006 alone, the terminal's actual working days totaled only one-fifth of its normal operation hours.
A couple of days ago, United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, called on Israel to reopen all Palestinian crossings in order to avert a humanitarian crisis.
Unfortunately, the crisis has already started. The Egyptian Red Crescent Society has provided blankets, food stuffs and medications to hundreds of stranded Palestinians, who have run out of money or even personal belongings, but their patience has run out as well.
Along with these trapped people, there are about 5,000 Palestinians, 20 percent of whom are patients, who choose to stay in other nearby Egyptian border towns like Sheikh Zweaiyed, Egyptian Rafah and Al-Arish, where we preferred to stay, "only for my wife's health condition."
Twenty-eight stranded patients have lost their lives at the border since the crisis began in June, according to Palestinian health ministry records.
The Rafah crossing terminal is situated on the border line between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, which my wife and I might leave soon to get assistance from helpful people or to enter Gaza… who knows?
Further Reading:
posted by HRM Deborah of Israel and the Messenger of Peace at 9:14 PM
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