Ramadan News

So this would be my first ramadan in Gaza in 9 years. Not much has changes, fasting, prayer, Koran and visting familes...for me however I cannot get too close to my fiance during the fast...

It's really hot in here, people miss the waters in the hot summer days...

We have been eating all sort of great foods...at my home resides my dad,mom and ytoungest sibling Mahmood, we also give food for my grandpa who lives in the back at his own place.

Ocassionaly we get guests atour table, so far 2 brother and their families, my sister andher family...her husband is in jail for being a freind of a guy the governent does not like.

So far we have to invite allm sisters to come share a meal with us....there will be at least 50 people at our home...my dad hates the crying kids...he delays it as much as he can.

My dad retired today...he last day of teaching was today...35 years of teaching he is DONE.

I have been visitng all sorts of fmaily, since Ramadan started I made about 20 visits along with either mom or dad...this is what people do in Ramdan...fun times every visit we take something with us roughly about 6 bucks cookeies or cake....I am fliping most of those bills.

I am intorudicng my mom to all sort of prepared food, my in laws know great places and so far I hooked my family with two take out dinners, they loved them.

Today I plan on making misakhan...youknow you want some? Chicken with satued onions, sumac and fresh bread.

No solid wods on travel days, I think it will be no more 10 days away...I just feel it.

Ramadan Mubarak.

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My Near Escape from the World’s Largest Mousetrap

By Hanitizer

I and more than fifteen American Citizens have now been stuck in Gaza for several weeks now. Three week, the Egyptian government kindly permitted the local Gaza government to send in some Palestinians to travel through the Rafah crossing, the only outlet Palestinians in Gaza have into the world since Israel began its crushing siege of the strip.

In 2007 and after the Hamas takeover, the Egyptian government joined Israel to keep the Rafah crossing shut. Ever since then, they only opened the crossing three days every about 40 days. The crossing that used to process 3000 travelers a day now only allows 3000 thousand travelers every 40 days. You can imagine the desperation of people who can leave – those lucky few with foreign travel documents who have a country that will accept them. Gaza is a destitute and embargoed land, not the kind of place you stay in if you do not have to.

To facilitate the travel when there are more travelers than Egypt will allow, the Gaza government registers and tries to schedule departures from Gaza. For example, the first day of border opening is almost always kept exclusively for patients seeking medical attention. The days after are reserved for those with foreign passports and permanent residency in various countries. Most Palestinians are stuck in Gaza with no chance of being able to travel.

The Egyptian government argues that the Rafah crossing would be open if the Palestinians solve their internal rift and agree to work together instead of undermining each other. This is collective punishment and it undermines the right of humans to mobility. What do I have to do with their political deadlock?

My frustration was heightened by my last attempt to leave.

The list of those seeking travel extended to 15 thousand travelers before I could get on. So, when I signed up to be put on a bus out of Gaza, I was told that I have to wait maybe up to six months. When Hamas announced the names of travelers through their website, I wasn’t surprised my name was not there.

On the second day of the crossing opening, the Gaza government opened registration for people with foreign passports. Thanks to my persistence and luck, I was able to get my name on the list, even though I only have an American Green Card.

The Hamas government was promised that the Egyptians would add an extra day to allow those foreign nationals to travel out of Gaza. When those names were announced, my name was put on bus 12 (out of 16 buses), which meant there was a chance I might not et to travel on the designated day.

To the Palestinians in Gaza, the Egyptian officers at the Rafah Crossing are notorious for their arbitrariness. They would close the gate if something “bothers them” For example, when the Palestinians sent a family with Palestinian passports but permanent residency in Sweden, the Egyptians grew angry and slowed down the process to a halt. Thus, the Palestinian government has no choice be to filter potential travelers and only send those they think the Egyptians won’t send back.

Egypt knows this does little good for Hamas’s standing in Gaza. Can you imagine the anger an average Palestinian has for the Hamas government when they tell him or her they cannot travel?

I was one of those travelers that Palestinian government sent back to Gaza instead of putting me on the bus to go to the Egyptian side – where I would face scrutiny as well.

Just to get to the point of rejection at the crossing, I had to endure a painful travel day. On the day my name was placed on the travel list, I had to wake up at 4 AM and head to the Stadium of Palestine in Gaza City where the buses leave from.

I arrived at the stadium right before they started loading the first three buses. The scene was shocking. Mobs of families and travelers hoping swarmed the buses. The first three buses were loaded in an orderly fashion, but by 9 AM the officers of the local government began to lose control of the process and asked for reinforcements.

At that point there was a lot of confusion and chaos.

With backup, the local authorities put five armed policemen to stop people not on the list from traveling.

People frustrated with this process also feared to be cheated. They outnumbered the armed officers. Before I could see what would happen, I an another young man snuck onto a bus through the window.

The 50 passenger-bus carried eighty of us. Rafah is a 45 minutes ride from where I was. The overcrowded but was as steamy as a sauna.

Upon arrival to the Rafah gate, the Palestinian officers sorted travelers and banned those who do not have papers. Somehow I got beyond this check.

In the next line, in a unit the Palestinians call the “GTV”, we were again sorted. They check documents again. After seeing my American issued residency card, they let me on the bus to head toward the station where the passports will be stamped by the local Palestinian government.

There, I wasn’t able to get a stamp since I had a residency card and a Palestinian travel document, which was really good-for-nothing. They denied me the right to leave, loaded me into a truck with several other rejects and took us back to the first point in the crossing.

I had to walk a long distance to find a taxi to take me back to the city.

It was very frustrating and painful. And the ride home was not much better. A smoker burnt my hand on accident. A young girl complained of a pain in the stomach. When I gave her water, she puked all over my pants and bag.

By the time I got home, I had a bad heat stroke, and a nasty tan.

Many had it worse. Palestinian families who sought to travel were separated. In one case, a dad who has permanent residency in Romania could not travel with his children and his Romanian wife.

A mom with a Palestinian citizenship could not join her kids and husband who hold the Jordanian nationality.

A newlywed couple had to be divided because the bride has a Palestinian travel document while the husband has a Swedish one.

Still, others paid the exist fee and got cleared from the Palestinian side only to have the Egyptian side close the gate for the day, leaving them in national limbo.

This is where the Israeli-Egyptian siege on Gaza is most brutal. Forget the shortage of food, they are getting high carb food into Gaza. Although Gaza is struggling to clear unexploded Israeli ordinance from the Gaza invasion earlier this year, there is no active bombing or fighting now.

What they do not have in Gaza is an essential human need: the freedom of movement.

As my Dad jokes about Gaza, “Welcome to the world’s biggest Mouse Trap.”

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22 “Oh Snap I’m Back in Gaza” Moments

By Hanitizer

Gaza is no different than the rest of Palestine, people live on a day-to-day basis and everything is bigger than what it seems, everything is connected, everything that happens has something to do with politics. Here are few random observations I took of Gaza and the people over there.

1- A new cell phone costs 10 bucks, a flashy case for it costs 10.

2- Mosques are everywhere, like coffee shops in New York City.

3- July is the season for jellyfish and weddings, the first takes a bite of your arse the second takes a bite of your wallet. (Most people do not swim with their wallets)

4- When you buy a pair of pants, they throw in a pair of socks. But hell, it’s blazing hot and everyone is in either sandals or flip flops anyways.

5- Just because Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) got away with being illiterate, that does not mean it’s a virtue.

6- If every time someone mushed a cigarette into an ash tray they became younger, Gaza would eventually become the largest kindergarten in the world.

7- I’ve definitely had better Arabic food in Dearborn, Michigan.

8- If the amount of body sweat were an indication of wealth, Gaza would be full of Bill Gates-types.

9- Seventy percent unemployment (Real problem) yet the majority of the people dress in Giorgio Armani and Nine West (fakes).

10- Unlike Jordan and Saudi Arabia, no one claims to be a kin of historical or religious figures. Yet everyone talks like they contain infinitely divine wisdom.

11- If donkey farts were cold, Gaza would be Alaska (hopefully without Palin)

12- Being poor in Gaza is like going to the local Costco and having no membership card.

13- Who needs to hire a maid? Just marry out one of the boys and earn a maid the old fashioned way (I disagree with this; it’s the way it is).

14- New Gaza rule, the bigger his beard, the higher his ranking in the government or police force.

15- We hate what the Israelis do to us, we resent many Israelis, but we rush out and buy any product with Hebrew on it.

16- When food is scarce, hosts will still ask you to eat just a bit more. With all the high carb food aid coming in, getting fat is an option.

17- Gaza consumes tons of diapers, yet malnourished kids poop less.

18- Zoos are the new freak shows, every town has its own zoo, sort of like Gaza, confined space, and people watch you from the outside even though you’ve got plenty of nothing to do. Israel, the guard, makes sure visitors don’t feed the Gazans.

19- Most college students study either education or social work, but Gaza has lousy education and the society has no work.

20- I’ve been keeping my eye out for Gilad Shalit, since apparently he’s the most important hostage in the world, even more so that 1.5 million Gazans.

21- No one watches music video anymore, instead they watch for news about the opening of the borders—evidently better entertainment and increasingly looking like science fiction, some abstract. future possibility.

22- Drink Coffee or Die Bitch!

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Smoothies in Gaza: In defiance of Nature and the Seige

One of my favorite days of the month was going to Costco and buying a large bag of frozen fruits, the ones you get for ten bucks, a bag of bananas for a dollar fifty, a case of Tropicana orange juice for eleven bucks, and fozen yogurt for five bucks. Take all these things and throw them in my nice blender...and music to my air. I am an addict to homemade smoothies and I have a combination of fruity mixes. For example, mango, bananas, and peaches with orange juice are a favorite. Or the berry mix with frozen yogurt, and strawberries. Now that I have been trapped in the Gaza Strip and I am determined to make smoothies here. As you know people in Gaza lose their jobs, loved ones and even their lives in a matter of seconds, but that does not mean I have to lose my mojo. Here are few challenges to my plan"

Problem One, frozen fruits have not gone mainstream in Gaza, maybe because the food sits for days on the crossings and it is costly to keep it frozen that long. It could be that people do not have enough fruits to consume fresh, yet alone to freeze it.

Solution I started freezing my own, whatever seasonal fruits I can buy for cheap, I freeze. Mangos, plums, melons, grapes are all summer fruits and all make great smoothie fruits.

Problem Two, due to the power shortage, electricity cuts off regularly and thus it is hard to keep food frozen. Once a day power cuts off about six hours and one cannot get fruits to a freezing degree on such conditions.

Solution, freeze my fruits at nearby family members who have a power generator which created another problem, their kids eat the fruits of my labor.

Problem 3, since the siege on Gaza electronic goods have yet to make it to Gaza via the legal outlets. Thus the only stuff you can find is the stuff they get from the tunnels, and the quest for finding a good Egyptian make blender is harsh. The blenders they have in Gaza are all wimpy and are not make for crushing frozen fruits—they are good for making Humus though.

Solution, chop those fruits into small cubes and add more liquid to the mix in order to make it easier for the blender to mix those delights. By this we avoid making chunky smoothies, closer to juice, but not icy smoothie.

Problem 4, this is the hardest one to overcome, fresh orange juice is all but banned in Gaza. We are in the summer season and there are no oranges in town, Israelis no longer sell their orange juice in Gaza, they really made a statement with that one. Gaza does not make orange juice in the summer and the only orangey thing they got is a cool aid like drink—called Tropica if anyone cared.

Solution, in order to get the sour flavor of oranges, I restored to using fresh limes who still grow in the summer in Gaza. A rare commodity but for two dollars you can score a kilo.

Problem 5, frozen yogurt is available in Gaza City, pricey but comes in all fruity flavors and actually some of it is comparable to what we buy at the local Safeway. The challenge however is in transporting a pound of frozen yogurt from downtown Gaza to my town of Beit Lahia, a 20 minutes ride and five minutes walk in the blazing summer.

Solution, buy the frozen yogurt late at night or just make my smoothies at a relatives house that lives in the area where I can buy the frozen yogurt.

Problem 6, mom wouldn’t let me use the kitchen, it is her “territory“ and she wouldn’t let others cramp her style and use her kitchen ware.

Solution, offered mom to wash the dishes and clean up after myself she generously agreed to let me use the kitchen and the blender.

By this I now have overcome the acts of politics and nature that are designed to keep my away from enjoying my all time favorite delicacy in Gaza. Making one litter of Smoothies in Gaza costs an arm and a leg, but drinking it with loved ones in Gaza is priceless.

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A Call

The American Consulate called me and asked me to send them an email...it looks like ADC has gotten to their heads and got them to move by having some Congressmen call them. The Consulate did not call me to offer help, but rather to deny a story I reported. What pissed them off the most is how I got the names and the ages and the States where 15 Americans stuck in Gaza...and got the list to ADC who passed to few offices.

But it is rather good to bug these guys at the Consulate for not being up to helping their people...they might hate me, but c'mon some groups can get people out of Gaza...I know of few families that got out...the states can do that...

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On Palestinian Airlines,

I passed by a tall building in downtown Gaza and I saw it was the building for Palestinians airlines....ever since Israel bombed the airport years ago. I though to make fun of it...

I saw the Palestinians got their own airlines; it is like the pirates having their own cruise line. I mean c’mon, we Palestinians have a reputations coming from the 70s that we do love airplanes, hell we hijacked few! Now they let us have our own airlines…funny they commercial for the airlines would be "Palestinian Airlines, we promise we won’t hijack this one" You are Safe With US…inch Allah! Yay, if you like donkey pulled airplanes try ours…you know instead of that little care that taxis you to the gate…a little jackass comes and pulls you toward your gate.

They wondered why no one buys two way ticket, most of their customers buy only one way ticket, I guess they have doubts that the plan will make it to the destination first. They find is hard to belive that they will return in safety.

I mean American pilots are using on driving the plane and knowing that everything will work out as it should and most of the time they are right that’s why when something goes wrong they freak out and do not know what to do! Arab ones are always flying with Murphy and his laws, it all goes wrong and we still will get you where you need to go.

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What's New?

things are getting weird, the infighting between Hamas and one of its subgroups (or so some claim) checkpoints are installed, looking guns and ammo in cars, asking people to step out of their cars to see if they are packing. The extremist group has thretend Hamas that they will retaliate and blow up their leaders for killing the leaders of thuis extrmiest group. it is getting silly since both groups seek to get people to pray, now they are both keeping people away from prayer becuae they are making is dangerous.

we passed by one of their checpoints and they were rude and sort of like we mean business. It was stresseful. But now people are hoping this will be wrapped up before the begning of the month of Ramadan Last week few memebrs of Hamas and the Jaljalt group got killed. Now we wait what will happend since Hamas is really taking their threat seriously. the leaders of Hamas riovals are enjoying the moment and talking like "Hamas is murdering people in Gaza"

I guess we have to wait and see. In the meantime, I went to the government building in downtown Gaza and renwed my registration. In order to get on the list, I had to go present papers and tell them, I am stilll here. There were long lines and new people seeking to travel, I waited in the sun for two hours and did not even complain. I know that this might not work out, but I still knock on all doors.

all the best and hope to see you on the flip side!

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In the Sand

I did go to ther beach yesterday with my sister, her kids, my brother his kids, his wife and Roaá, my finace. We spent 4 hours there and had a great time. We did swim for about 40 minutes, we had a great on a hot summer night. The water was warm, the sands were hot and the air was cool. There were some life guards on the beach who kepttelling us get out, come close to the shore...we were near the sand. But I guess the guy wanted to expose his authority!

Still waiting on three things that might come along to help me get out. 1-Rafah might open in few days and I might get a chance to get on the bus. 2-The American Consulate ini Jerusalme might help us get out via Israel. I found few American citizens and stuck in Gaza and this might get them to help us out. 3-The Israeli group Gisha might find a way to help me get out, they are appealing with the Israeli government to let us leave through the Eriz Crossing which is open.

Nothing certain yet, but now I have to make decsions on whetehr to keep my apartment in DC or just store my stuff around. Nothing is clear, but I know that I have to get out soon, or else my job is gone.

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War in Gaza

About 20 killed and more than100 hurt....Hamas and an extremest groupin Rafah ...the Taliban like group pickedafightwith hamas over amosque...and it is insane. Hamas has checkpoints to make sure thoseextremists do not get enforcement. anyone read about it? I know Hamasiss extremists in the eyes of few...but those Jaljalat folks arenukcing futs.They are still fighting each other.

I will tell you what I think...

There are religious people in Gaza who take religion seriously, and have been disappointed by the government of Hamas. The guy is reallycrazy....take this he is a medical doctor, he is a universityprofessor who makes a lot of money...he teaches medicine in Gaza(either al azhar or most likely the Islamic university) he is amongthe top paid few in Gaza and yet power is hard to resist....\he foundsome clowns who are frustrated and wanted to belong to somethingpurely religious and wanted to install religion in every corner...like few who got shafted in life and wanted everyone to have a crappy lifelike theirs. Worst part a good friend of mine who used to performDebka in Europe and went to Frances as a young man, now belongs tothem and is one of their militias....he goes tot he beach and harasspeople.

Those guys hate women and anything to do with them, they like the sexpart where they may more than one, but they really believe things likewomen should not answer the phone nor should dress not looknice...they also hate the intranet and music and festive weddings....Ithink Obama mean those people when he said "They cling to their gunand religion"

I think their fatal mistake was killing the leader of Qassam in Rafah,this is a red line that neither Hamas nor any of their militias willlive with...they freaking bombed the guy's house and killed hissupporters who also were trying to get to heaven by killing the Hamasguys! Most indifferent people in Gaza, do not mind this...they wantThese extremists to duke it out....tums up to Hamas propaganda, theircrisis management should be the envy of most Arab regimes...they weremobilized with talking points that said all the right things.
Hope that gives you an idea

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Shoutout

I want to take a quick second and give a shoutout to Will from KaBobfest for his help with my writting. Tony has also been a great help form his new home in New York. Yousef for his freindship and his help trying to get me through to the Consulate people in Jerusalem. Cannot forget Carlos and his willing to always help and take care of things for me as much as he can form the States...I knowI can help call him manytimes and he will get back to me right away. My boss hasalso been a great help in understanding my situation. Kellee, Donny and Lyndsay I love you guys.

Ramadan is almost hear and the month of fast is a bout a week away, school is also near so I will be kicking it at some with no freinds! Let's hope I am able to leave soon...

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Latest Post

My new blog post about Gaza and being stuck there. I guess I just got plenty of time to write and I am going to just do that until I get out.

Here is the link

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Hamas Got Wood!

My new post on Kabobfest about how Hamas is winning the media war in Palestine and how they are gibing Fatah a good run for their money. I am still impressed by the work they do in the media front...it seems they leanred all the media lessons from the US of A.

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The jury is Out on The General

-Still looking for that good Egyptian General to get me out....I need to ask the right people. the question is not in the money...my parents got some stached just for that....the thing is most people are afraid to give you leads becasue if they use it...they keep it secret becasue they might get in trouble with any of the intrested government in the region.

-I have the phone number for the gentelman at the borders Abu Farooq who holds the list of the people on the VIP list. He would not tell how to get on the list, but he will tell me if my name on it. He is a good man, but not too good.

-A family that lives next to us managed to get on the VIP list becasue the father has a decor store and he hooked the general with some goods and sure thing the Gaza family got out, a day before the gate opens and have been in Egypt for more than a week.

-The passports does not do much for you, i know two American doctors who are stuck in Gaza along with me, wating to be let out. One of them even brought in medical aid for Gaza. Guess what he is still kicking in in Khan Younes.

-I am hoping www.adc.org will be able to get me some letters to the American Consulate in Jerusalem to have them look at me seriously. They help people i know they do, but it does cost them too much of a headach to work things out with the Israelis.

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Regrets In Gaza

Here is what I regret about this trip to Gaza

-Not bringing my Family guy and Two and a Half Men shows to watch while I am here. I miss good old Stewie.

-Not bringing my digital camera with me to take more pictures of life in Gaza.

-Not brining my workout gloves to use them if I decide to go to the gym

-Forgetting to pack lots of sugar free gum....it is a lot cheaper and better in the States. The tunnels bring in some gum, but it is not good.

-Not Rememebering to bring razors or blades to use, Gaza has crappy ones and they are a lot a lot more pricey than the States.

-Not Brining a Hard disck to save all my vidoes, I took plenty of good ones on this trip...including two doneckys running down the road.

-More Floss and good mouth wash, Israel does not allow those.

-Biggest regret not brining Splenda...cannot find it...my life is miserable!

-The good news, I am still alive and well in Gaza wiating to get back

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What Looks Like Options

Here are what options I can try....

1. Pay Off an Egyptian General who can put me on a VIP list to get out of Gaza even if the borders are closed. I know of two families who used that option. The paymet goes between 1000-4000 US dollars. It's hard to get a hold of one of those guys...it is a business and these guys make lots of money out of the Gaza misery
2. Get the help of an Israeli NGO who helps with Palestinian movement www.gisha.org They promised to help and asked me to provide documents about my connections with the US. Nothing Certain, but I got tio try.
3. Wait fore the nest time the crossing opens and try to get out, I gues my name has to be on the official list. Not sure if I can wait that long away from life in DC.
4. Smuggle myself using the tunnels. Not gonna happen for two reasons...the Egyptians would ask me for my entry sdtamp if I was to use their airport. Two I do not like risk nor dark places.

I will keep trying and something will come up....

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Standing Still and

Still in Gaza and cannot seem to find a way out. The Rafah border opend for few days...and I could not leave. For two straight days, I went from 5 Am only to get back at 5 PM with my bag and a nasty tan...and also a heat stroke. On my first attempt, I got on the bus to head to the borders and right before I got on it...I got burned by some random person's ciggerrette, his mojo got to my hand and it does hurt. On the bus, a baby girl puked on my hand and my bag after I gave her water once she complained from a pain in the stomach...her mom was sitting on a different seat.

We make it to the Palestinian side and I use some skils to get through and allow officers to let me in telling them stories about how the Green Card counts as a travel documents...they day was saved for people with foreign passports...once I get to the last stop at the Palestinian side, they tell me to go back becasue the Egyptians would not let me in and worse punish others for my not having a non-Palestinian passport. Forgot to say, I got on the bus from the window....the first two buses went out well and everything organized and then people started losing their cool and I wasn't going to get myself punished becasue others did not respect order. My brother Mahmooud got my bags in and all I had to do is to get on the bus using the window. Keep on mind, Hamas officers like 6 armed men were standing at the door to keep people out.

On the second day, I tried to go and waited there longer to get the heck out....it turn out after 12 hours wait in the sun and having nothing but dates and water all day, the Egyptians are feeling down so they did not let in many buses. Sorry, if I am making the Egyptians look bad, but we do not feel they are helping the people here and the local government has nothing to do but get people on buses and stamp their passports, send them to the Egyptains who send most of them back.

Each day, I got back with eiather lack of sleep, a heat stroke, hunger and all other fun things you leanr to live with in Gaza. It does turn out that Rafah is the best way to both lose weight and get a nice tan at the same time (Do not tell the OC girls now)

Truth of the matter, it was painful to go throught this and frustrating at best. But I am only one person, young and got time, I met so many old people who are sick, so many young families broken apart, a newley wed couple who are told they cannot leave together, a Palestinian teen who could not leave with his parents to Saudi Arabis, a Palestinian doctor who was told he cannot leave with his wife and five kids to Romania becasue he does not hold a non-Palestinian passport. An American doctor who came into Gaza bringing aid, only not to be able to leave Gaza becasue the day was not for foreign passports...this is where the seige is...this is where Gaza struggle...this is this is unfair and brutal...food they got food in Gaza, but just like a prions, you got no place to go.

I am really getting tired of this and hoping to find a way to get out soon....I love you freinds and keep Gaza and the poor fmailies in your prayers.
a

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Still Time to Kick it Around

www.moi.gov.ps is the website for the local Gaza government where the name of travelers will be published. my name should come out today anytime now to travel tommrow along with hundreds of Palestinians who hold forgien travel documents. In agreemnet with the Egyptians, they added an extra travel day for people under those category. I got my name on the list on the first day they opened the list.

Had this list not been made avialble, the only time I would get out of Gaza is late August at best case. I am hoping to be able to leave tommroe in time to catch my flight from Cairo to Dulles airport.

I did go to the government complex today, yes the one that Israeli bombed the shiz out of, and talked to a genteleman whose only answer is to look on the web. As a student of administration, I loved the idea where citizens canget things done from home.

So if my name comes out today, I would head to Gaza, pick my ticket, and ride on the bus on the time and place mentioned and wait to get to the Palestinian side and then take us to the Egyptian side who can send me away or can let me into their country or even deport me to the airport....I have to wait to see...
I miss you guys

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Adventure in Trying to Leave Gaza

Today, I took a cab ande my bag and headed toward the Rafah gate....I had to make an effort since my name did not come out yet. I was asked to go back to Gaza city and look for my name on some list...my name has yet to show up on any list. So the trip was not ery fun, but I felt good that I made some efforts.

My time window to leave the Strip has three more days on it. I asked to go back and add my name to a new list for those who carry foreing passports and documents, somehow I was added to the list and they took my number.

The trouble is to get a Hamas figure to put my name on the list of the buses heading toward Egypt. Once I make it to the Egypt, most likley I will be allowed to make it to the airport to catch my flight--some detention might come along.

It's really hard to get a hold of some Hamas figures, they all shut down their phones at the times you need them. I had some luck, but nothing solid as of yet.

My contact with Hamas come through some fmaily member who works for the government--I have yet to meet one of the big wigs in person--let's hope that Israel does not decide to take them out once I see them. Kidding my distant cousin is really really high up in their government

Cannot wait to et back to work....

Pray for Gaza!

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Fat don’t Fit!!! (7 ways to gain some weight in Gaza

Going on week 4 of my visit to Gaza, I’m hoping to wrap up my short “vacation” in the coming days. To say the least about this recent trip to the Strip, I have definitely gained a few pounds. I stayed strong and said ‘No’ to many things like sodas, transfats, and heavily fried foods, but I had to bend on the sugar tea. I honestly thought Gaza would be a place to preserve my diet given the low food security in the Strip, but little did I know. Here is how I stacked the pounds against my will:
1. Food = Love and AppreciationIf I said ‘No’ to their hospitality, I was instantly put on their “Shit list.” When you have a humongous family like I do, obesity is your only motherfuckin’ option.

2. Staying Indoors Recipe (Ingredients: 2 cups of insanely hot weather . . . )You can’t walk outside during the day or else you suffer serious skin damage. Remember: Arabs prefer lighter shades of skin.

3. Mama’s home cooking is finger lickin’ good!Your mom makes you her assignment to make a statement about her cooking skills: The fatter you are, the better her cooking. In other words, if I’m skinny, it’s a direct reflection on my mom’s cooking skills and on my dad’s wealth.

4. Bummin’ the day awayWith closures, the siege, civil strife, summer season and sky high unemployment, there is only sleep and plenty of eating to do. It’s seriously hard not to sleep when the electricity is shut off at least three times a week.
5. Carbs and the Gazan Food PyramidRice, bread, potatoes and sweet tea are available in every home and the people of Gaza sure are creative in putting these starches to good use. Pretty much every meal in Gaza includes at least three of those I just mentioned the list.
6. ‘Tis the Season (to get engaged, of course)Getting engaged and earning a sweet mother-in-law can only make matters worse on the weight front. My body actually became battling ground between my future mother-in-law and my mom. What they were fighting for: Who can make me fatter? It seems that both sides have claimed victory as both have contributed to the loss of my petite physique.

7. Jims and Gyms are hard to findLack of clean and complete gym facilities make matters worse. The absence of paved and safe roads combined with the presence of insane drivers also discourages running.Fat don’t Fit!!! (7 ways to gain some weight in Gaza)
By Los
From the Hanitizer, who is currently in Gaza:
Going on week 4 of my visit to Gaza, I’m hoping to wrap up my short “vacation” in the coming days. To say the least about this recent trip to the Strip, I have definitely gained a few pounds. I stayed strong and said ‘No’ to many things like sodas, transfats, and heavily fried foods, but I had to bend on the sugar tea. I honestly thought Gaza would be a place to preserve my diet given the low food security in the Strip, but little did I know. Here is how I stacked the pounds against my will:
1. Food = Love and AppreciationIf I said ‘No’ to their hospitality, I was instantly put on their “Shit list.” When you have a humongous family like I do, obesity is your only motherfuckin’ option.

2. Staying Indoors Recipe (Ingredients: 2 cups of insanely hot weather . . . )You can’t walk outside during the day or else you suffer serious skin damage. Remember: Arabs prefer lighter shades of skin.

3. Mama’s home cooking is finger lickin’ good!Your mom makes you her assignment to make a statement about her cooking skills: The fatter you are, the better her cooking. In other words, if I’m skinny, it’s a direct reflection on my mom’s cooking skills and on my dad’s wealth.

4. Bummin’ the day awayWith closures, the siege, civil strife, summer season and sky high unemployment, there is only sleep and plenty of eating to do. It’s seriously hard not to sleep when the electricity is shut off at least three times a week.
5. Carbs and the Gazan Food PyramidRice, bread, potatoes and sweet tea are available in every home and the people of Gaza sure are creative in putting these starches to good use. Pretty much every meal in Gaza includes at least three of those I just mentioned the list.
6. ‘Tis the Season (to get engaged, of course)Getting engaged and earning a sweet mother-in-law can only make matters worse on the weight front. My body actually became battling ground between my future mother-in-law and my mom. What they were fighting for: Who can make me fatter? It seems that both sides have claimed victory as both have contributed to the loss of my petite physique.

7. Jims and Gyms are hard to findLack of clean and complete gym facilities make matters worse. The absence of paved and safe roads combined with the presence of insane drivers also discourages running.

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