For the past three weeks, I have been visiting my family in the northern Gaza Strip. I was shocked and devastated by the de-development of the Gaza Strip. It was even worse than I imagined. Destruction and destitution are rampant. Combine that with sky high unemployment rates and limited or no freedom of movement, and you have the perfect combination for a failed state and a society in disarray. And to make matters worse, I am stuck here. I am now officially stranded in this narrow strip of land. I am being told that it will be "unlikely" for me to make my way out of Gaza due to the ongoing Israeli-Egyptian siege that has closed borders on every front. Gaza is the largest open air prison in the world. On June 26, I was able to cross into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing on the south of the small territory. It was an extremely rare course of events, especially given the current political tensions. Egypt officially does not open the border since they are "under no obligation to do so" as long as the Palestinians fail to stick to their 2005 agreement brokered between Fatah and the Israelis by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. I flew from London to Cairo and expected to be turned away and sent back once we landed in Egypt as the Egyptian Security had done to me three weeks earlier in my first attempt to visit Gaza. Miraculously, I was not sent back on the same plane I came in on. I quickly exited the airport and caught the next bus towards the besieged coastal territory. I arrived at my destination, only to wait for a second bus which actually goes into the strip. It just so happened that a delegation of Palestinian athletes with special needs was coming back from a competition in Tunisia that same day. So the Egyptians opened the borders and thought they would squeeze in a few more Palestinians to fill the bus headed for Rafah. Letting people into Gaza happens to be a profitable business where both buses and government exit fees are quite high. After several delays and a daunting trip, we crossed Rafah and made it to the Palestinian side of the border. To their credit, the Egyptians opened the crossing for us on a Friday, the Muslim day of worship. They hardly ever open it. On the Palestinian side of the border, the officers of the new government received us and checked our passports, stamped them, checked our luggage at the counters for customs and then let us go. They were quite courteous and very professional, regardless of my ideological differences with them. It was joyous to see my family, some of whom I had not seen for 9 years. I went on to take care of some personal business, which included getting engaged. I also met with a few NGO and civil organizations to learn about some of their challenges, the types of aid they have been receiving and if there were any needs for further funding. I work for a non-partisan, non-religious Palestinian-American charity that provides grants to civil society groups in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
It was good to get a feel for what is currently taking place on the receiving end of the aid in Gaza. It was a great learning experience as I managed to survey some of the devastated areas and to assess the damages the latest offensive caused. Such knowledge will be of a great help to me in my work back in Washington D.C. In preparing to return to Washington and to leave my family once again, I contacted the local authorities in charge of travel. They informed me that they were no longer taking any names for "the list," that pseudo-VIP list that allows people to get on the bus that goes out of Gaza and onto the Egyptian side of the border. As I came to find out, the list has some 3000 Gazans on it. None of them know when the borders will open. In other words, using the Rafah crossing is out of the question. I was also told that some important "Hamas figures" could push my papers through with the Egyptians, but I readily declined that option for obvious reasons. Since I work for an American charity and lived in the States longer than I have lived anywhere else, I contacted the American Consulate in Jerusalem. I never knew such courteous and creative ways of telling me: "No, we really cannot help you" existed. The same answer came from the American Embassy in Egypt who actually went on to explain why they could not, nor would they help me. I have also tried some leads in Ramallah with President Abbas to help coordinate my departure form Gaza, but nothing has materialized yet. Honestly, I cannot wait to get back to my Columbia Heights studio apartment and to get back to my old job where I can put what I learned into action. I know that some might see me going to Gaza as a boneheaded decision, but I have many good personal and professional reasons to have taken this trip. For now, I can only wait to get out on time.