Gaza is Starving this Festive Season
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RDA Gulf Correspondent - . December 18, 2024
- . Update: December 19, 2024 4:36 am
While it is associated with festivity and warmth to many in the Northern Hemisphere as winter sets in, it does little but increase the misery for the 1.9 million displaced Palestinians in Gaza. Cold temperatures and heavy rains have caused tents to flood, destroy makeshift shelters and sweep away whatever few possessions people had left leaving families destitute. In a region where for example, a new tent costs as much as 1,000 dollars and basic items such as a blanket or clothes are out of reach, survival becomes daily.
Many of those who lost their homes fled with little more than the clothes on their backs, little chance to salvage belongings from the rubble. As winter began to come, the price of apparel rose, the barest minimum like a coat cost $100 and shoes $75. No one can afford either. There have been rag markets but these too are unaffordable and people parade about in thin summer dresses shivering with cold.
Children play barefoot in muddy streets and families run out of fuel to be able to heat their home. The price of petroleum reached $72 only for 8kg.
Without clean water or soap, bad hygiene combined with the cold is sure to ensure that illness spreads. Gazan hospitals that are full of war casualties cannot handle simple illnesses because it lacks many supplies. Many people are thus exposed to flu and cold’s potentially deadly effects.
Another unlivable challenge is hunger. Flour sells over $300 in a bag while vegetables are scarce and extremely expensive, and meat was no longer available for several months. Bakeries are not around which means that the bread cannot be easily and affordably accessed for thousands of families. Family forces them to go into some charity soup kitchens. Well it is so insignificant that nothing can match psychologically the scenario of the inability to feed children. In this silent suffering, Gaza feels deserted. As the rest of the world prepares for one season of feasting, we prepare to face a very cold, hungry painful loneliness that can only be thought of as an abandonment from the human community.
