{"id":6253,"date":"2015-02-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-25T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/2015\/02\/25\/gaza-situation-updatevisit-10-12-february-2015\/"},"modified":"2015-02-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-02-25T00:00:00","slug":"gaza-situation-updatevisit-10-12-february-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/gaza-situation-updatevisit-10-12-february-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza Situation UpdateVisit 10-12 February 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sami El-Yousef<\/em><\/p>\n

Introduction:<\/strong>
\nDuring this visit, we were accompanied by a senior level group from
\nMisereor, the aid agency of the Catholic Church in Germany, which has partnered with us and our colleague, Mr. Joseph Hazboun. This was his first time to the Gaza
\nStrip. We wanted to introduce our friends at Misereor to the institutions and people they have
\nsupported for many years so that they have an honest hands-on account of the real Gaza and its
\ndesperate situation. We also wanted to monitor and evaluate CNEWA\/Pontifical Mission of Palestine’s ongoing projects, many
\nof which are related to the emergency intervention as well as discuss with our various partners
\ncurrent and future needs. Finally, we hoped our presence in Gaza demonstrates our commitment to
\nhelping the people of Gaza where many continue to feel abandoned and are losing hope. I am very
\nhappy to report that the visit was a great success in meeting all its goals.<\/p>\n

Visit with Misereor to NECC, Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, Rosary Sisters School and Shija’ia neighborhood:<\/strong>
\nAfter the Erez clearance, we made quick visit to the Near
\nEast Council of Churches (NECC) Clinic in Shija’ia to observe a psychosocial session in progress. We were told that some of the women — whom lived in the destroyed neighborhood, had lost their loved ones or lost their homes and are now homeless, live with either family members or in makeshift ‘school shelters’ which are still open. It was amazing to see how these mothers are so resilient despite their enormous loss and have the courage to speak with our guests. A common message that was said: “Despite what you hear about us, we love life — we want to live in peace —
\nenough is enough — help stop the wars — tell our story to the world — and thank you for being with us”. Powerful messages
\nthat truly touched our hearts!<\/p>\n

We also headed to the NECC’s Vocational Training Center
\nwhere a carpentry, blacksmithing and aluminum training
\nworkshops were already in session; over 100 young students
\nwere in class learning about the trade. If a serious
\nreconstruction effort was launched to rebuild the roughly
\n100,000 structures destroyed by three wars in the past five
\nyears, these students will be immediately employed.
\nHowever, the unfortunate continuation of the ‘status quo’ for
\nGaza, meaning that its economy will continue to be
\nunderdeveloped and youth will join the thousands upon
\nthousands of unemployed people in the Gaza Strip who
\ncannot find work. It must be very difficult for them not
\nknowing what the future holds yet their spirits were high and could still joke and laugh.<\/p>\n

Thereafter, we met with Ms. Suhaila Tarazi, director of
\nthe Al- Ahli Arab Hospital to inform us on the
\nMisereor-funded psychosocial program. We met with
\nsome of the participants — mainly women who come
\nfrom various locations throughout the Gaza Strip. Their
\nmessage was very similar to that of the women at the
\nNECC clinic. Interestingly, there was a small exhibit of
\nthe drawings made by the women’s children who also
\nattended the children’s psychosocial sessions. Most of
\nthe drawings were particularly depressing with
\ndepictions of destruction, missiles and military planes,
\npeople weeping, the use of dark colors and other
\nnegative images of war. Certainly the ugliness of war in
\na child’s eyes was reflected through those drawings.
\nYet, it was uplifting throughout our visit at the hospital
\nto hear the message of appreciation and financial
\nsupport for the patients of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital. Ms.
\nTarazi went to great lengths to thank Misereor and all of
\nCNEWA\/PMP’s partner donors for their outstanding
\ngenerosity to procure much needed medicines, medical
\nsupplies, fuel and medical coverage for the needy.
\nWithout the funds, the hospital would have simply shutdown
\nand surely patients would have lost their lives.
\nMs. Tarazi stressed that these contributions made a
\nsubstantial difference especially during an active war.<\/p>\n

Next on our itinerary was the Rosary Sisters School to
\ninspect the rehabilitation work to the school grounds
\ncompleted after the war and enabled the school to open
\nin time for the 2014-2015 academic school year but also
\nvisit the 9th<\/sup> and 10th<\/sup> grade classes whom we visited
\npreviously. For those of you who have not seen this 7
\nminute encounter of the 9th grade students, please take
\ntime to watch it through the following link:
\nhttp:\/\/www.cnewa.org\/default.aspx?ID=3770&pagetypeID=4&sitecode=HQ&pageno=1<\/u><\/a>. It was
\ntouching to meet the students again and listen to their
\nstories. Most touching was their appreciation for our
\nsupport and solidarity which was very much
\nappreciated.<\/p>\n

The last place we visited for the day was the Shija’ia
\nneighborhood which sustained large scale destruction,
\nespecially the two completely destroyed buildings of
\nthe Wafa Hospital. The scenes were beyond
\nimagination! Not only was the hospital completely
\ndestroyed, but also the entire neighborhood surrounding
\nit. We met some of the neighborhood residents who are
\nstill living in the remnants of their destroyed homes
\neven in the middle of winter. In fact, we were in the
\nmidst of a sand storm which had some of the worst
\npollution levels in five years. The residents who we
\nspoke with were very angry with many issues: the two
\npolitical factions, Fatah and Hamas, for doing nothing
\nto ease their suffering and for the lack of progress to
\nreconcile; at UNRWA for not doing enough to help
\nreconstruct; and at the international community for not
\ndenouncing war for the people of Gaza; and at Israel for
\ndestroying life in Gaza. Yet despite all the suffering and anger, there was a clear message of
\nresilience and faith. They always concluded with a simple phrase “this is our destiny and we have to
\nthank God for everything!!!”<\/p>\n

As we concluded our visits with Misereor for the day, I felt very blessed to have had the chance to
\naccompany the Misereor delegation and listen to the spiritual message of Misereor’s President Msgr.
\nPirmin Spiegel. Words cannot express our deepest appreciation from this humble priest who truly
\ninspired those we met to keep their faith and hope alive!<\/p>\n

Progress of the Emergency’s Psychosocial Intervention:<\/strong>
\nAfter bidding farewell to our partners from Misereor, we started
\nthe second day with visits to other psychosocial
\nprograms. Throughout our visits to the psychosocial
\nsessions, the sight of children enjoying the activities
\nand having fun was most refreshing to see.<\/p>\n