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Gaza Spring 2009 Trip Diary

by Bill Corcoran, ANERA President

ANERA's Gaza staff with Bill Corcoran
and Bill Hopkins

ANERA is paying workers to clean farmers' agricultural fields of plastic debris.

The childrren in the Bara-em Al Quds Preschool in Shejaia were dressed as bunnies and Bedouins, but their faces lacked signs of joy.

The childrren in the Bara-em Al Quds Preschool in Shejaia were dressed as bunnies and Bedouin, but their faces lacked signs of joy.

ANERA's renovations at the Amjad Preschool in Gaza

ANERA's renovations at the Amjad Preschool - for a total cost of $5,000.

Lessons have resumed at the Gaza Music School.

Children forced to live in tents are getting some joy from ANERA's psychosocial work.

Monday, May 25
I entered without delay through the Erez crossing into Gaza. At the end of the usual walk through No Man’s Land, a destroyed industrial park surrounded by watchtowers, I met Salah, the director of the ANERA office in Gaza, who greeted us nervously. I soon discovered the reason for his anxiety. The “Ministry of Interior” had established a checkpoint to admit visitors. The information requested was standard until they sought my email and phone number. Then, they inspected my bag. Opening envelopes and books, the inspection process rivaled the procedure conducted by the Israelis. While polite, they reinforced their authority with the presence of numerous armed soldiers who hovered in the background.

To forget these problems, we spent the remainder of the day focusing on project visits, particularly the plastic recycling effort. We watched as day laborers, deep in a cornfield, picked through the four-foot corn stalks to strip out the plastic sheeting littering the ground. Used as covering for infant strawberry plants in the spring, the plastic now needed to be cleared out to permit unfettered corn growth. We pay the local workers $10 per day, or $200 per month, to collect plastic shards, providing a tremendous boost for the unemployed. The plastic allows factories which have lost access to raw materials due to the closed borders to continue operating. [Listen to Bill talking about the plastic clean-up project>>]

During lunch with the staff, we had sfiha and small pizzas. There is no cardboard, so all food comes in Israeli paper bags. The staff laughed easily and seemed much happier than they had during my February visit. They readily acknowledged that the professional help of the psychologist hired for them by ANERA had been crucial. Their questions to me focused on ANERA’s finances and how the West perceived the people of Gaza.

Tuesday, May 26
As I traveled throughout Gaza for the second time since the war, I tried to glean differences in conditions and attitudes. One observation came at the Bara’em Al Quds Preschool in Shejaia. The children were practicing for a dance recital dressed as Bedouin and even bunny rabbits but their expressions lacked any signs of joy. Many of them remain visibly affected.

Dr. Fadel Abu Hein, our psychologist, met with me for an hour to discuss the successes and challenges of ANERA’s psychosocial program for 8-14 year olds. In one area, he identified 100 seriously affected children who will require months of professional care and assistance. Dr. Abu Hein is also responsible for overseeing outreach workers in UNICEF-supplied tents pitched in beach communities and Gaza City. Despite all the sadness he witnesses on a daily basis, he spoke of one recent success with a 10-year-old boy. The boy’s home was destroyed and he watched as his brother was assassinated in front of him. After the incident, he would not speak or mix with other children, but clung to his mother and wet his bed nightly. After 15 meetings with the psychosocial program, he is finally able to smile and interact with others.

Another joy came in the tiny eastern town of Bani Suhaila at the Amjad preschool. We have long wanted to rehabilitate the dilapidated facilities for children, but the war and the embargo on building supplies have complicated the situation. Rather than wait until the embargo is lifted, the staff decided to undertake repairs with whatever materials are available. They erected walls, doors, and sinks at child level, and renovated bathrooms that were destroyed. After the renovations are complete, the staff plans to paint the walls and tile the floors. The total cost of the construction is projected at $5,000. The Gaza staff is upset because the prices are much higher than before the war. The cost of poor quality Egyptian cement has increased from $12 to $60 per bag. Still, these renovations represent significant progress for children who are waiting to return to preschool. [Listen to Bill talk about this work>>]

Another high moment was visiting the Gaza Music School, located in the Al Quds Hospital. During the war, the structure was charred by phosphorus bombs, destroying its piano, ouds and sheet music. The school has resettled in another building one block away, and struggled to recover instruments and materials. Despite the challenges it has faced, the school is thriving and continues to provide music lessons to the community.

Meanwhile, Bill Hopkins – our new CFO – ensconced himself in our main warehouse to review our data entry system for medicines and medical supplies. It was practically empty as we just delivered a shipment from Catholic Medical Mission Board. The shipment included the hearing aids from Dr. Randa Mansour-Shousher, a Board member. They were hand delivered to a grateful Atfaluna School for the Deaf.

Wednesday, May 27
Our final day in Gaza had us running to include as many visits as possible before our departure. ANERA provides psychological services to adults and children in the Zeitoun District, operating out of a tent it has constructed in the village. The Zeitoun District is home to the famous Samouni clan who had 30 family members brutally killed during the war. Amidst the ruined orchards and rubble of their homes, 25 women stood in a circle doing ice breakers. Led by a veiled woman with a Master’s in psychology, they began to relax and laugh. This led to some more serious meditation with quiet music in the background. Then, the crying began to flow. Too many memories crept in and one mother had to leave the tent. It was then that we felt obliged to give them their privacy and move on to the children. [Listen to Bill talk about his visit to the tents.]

In another ravaged area, Ezbet Abed Rabbo, the atmosphere was more uplifting. Twenty children of various ages held hands in a circle singing and dancing. They were spontaneous and free with their laughter even as strangers entered. Two young men, also with Master’s degrees, guided them through the games like The Safe Castle, a therapeutic exercise to help them recover from trauma. All the children love ANERA’s tent because it offers a refuge from the drudgery and pain of the tents where they live, in crowded conditions and amidst the broken cement of their old homes.

Leaving Gaza has become a painful process. After trying to visit every project in the remaining time, we sped to the border before it closed, leaving some wiggle room for bureaucratic delays. We found ourselves stuck behind a gauntlet of donkey carts that seem to be taking over Gaza’s streets. As cars break and spare parts are unavailable, families revert to donkeys or horses. They tend to move where and when they want which adds significant time to travel. I began to get tense as the closing hour approached and we were only inching along.

The wait extended to 30 minutes before we were finally given the approval to walk back through No Man’s Land. As Bill and I were midway in this open field, gunfire broke out. The IDF was shooting from atop its watchtowers. Not wanting to make erratic moves, we slowly continued our path to the tunnel connecting travelers to Erez. I sighed with relief when we reached it but by then the doors of Erez had clanked shut. Palestinians and expats stood in an outside waiting area as the gunfire spasmodically continued for 25 minutes. Finally, it stopped and the doors opened. No one knows why and no reason was offered.