From Russia Today With Love

They did not tell me it will be on camera, I thought I was on the phone, and the camera looked not on. sorry for not looking to the camera.

Let's pray for Gaza

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Gaza Doctor Restores Ability to Speak Using A Decommissioned Endoscope

 Mohammad Awajah is a forty-three year old Palestinian father from the West Bank city of Jericho whose ability to speak was just restored. During his shift as an employee for the Palestinian Telecommunication Company on January 13, 2011 he opened a phone wire box where he says he inhaled a gas that caused him to lose his ability to speak. His family, including his wife and five little kids, thought this was just a temporary bug; but days later he was still unable to speak and their medical trials had officially begun.

Om Moussa, Muhammad's wife said, “We visited with a professor surgeon in the West Bank who was unable to help. We tried many medications that did nothing to bring his voice back.” She continues “The professor said he cannot help because a long time has passed since the incident.” They still visited a number of local clinics that would prove fruitless. They even visited with a doctor in the celebrated Israeli hospital Hadassah. Nobody was able to reunite Muhammad with his voice. At that point Muhammad started to lose hope and started seeing psychologists due to his depression. He would felt disconnected from his family and because he could not talk to anyone and didn’t care about anything around him. His youngest son Aboud wouldn’t talk to him and kept away from him due to this sudden change.

A West Bank doctor advised them to make up a dramatic scene that would be shocking enough to bring back Muhammad’s voice. Om Moussa played along and put on a good show where she pretended that she only had few days to live due to some serious illness. Muhammad offered to pay all his money to save her, but still had no voice.

Months later, Om Moussa watched a talk show where a Gaza-based Palestinian Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist was talking about a case where he was able to restore the speaking ability of an elderly woman who had lost that ability more than 15 years ago. Dr. Ahmad Jadaba’s success story was well publicised in the Palestinian media. Desperate for help, Om Moussa called the doctor and consulted with him on her husband’s case.

Due to an outdated phone directory she had to make 18 wrong calls before she could reach him. Later they met via video conference even though they were only a short drive apart. Dr. Jadaba promised Muhammad and his wife that he would do his best to restore his speaking ability. Now, the political reality and uniqueness of the situation hits: Dr. Jadaba lives in besieged Gaza, and the Awajahs live in the West Bank. Traditionally the better doctors and facilities are in the West Bank and Israel. So most ill Gazans travel there, not the other way around. No one has ever come Gaza for health care.

Confused by the unusual request, the Israeli authorities denied them a permit to go into Gaza for medical attention. They stressed that if physicians in Israel couldn’t fix it, no one else can. Thus Israel denied all of their seven attempts to get a permit to enter Gaza. Om Moussa wouldn’t quit, working with the local health authorities in both Gaza and Ramallah. In the end, they traveled to Jordan and from Jordan they flew to Egypt and from Egypt, and special coordination that required miracles, they arrived in Gaza. At the Rafah border, Dr. Jadaba brought his family and received Muhammad and his wife, offering to host them at his house.

Arriving in Gaza on July 5th, Dr. Jadaba started his treatment on Mr. Awajah. At first it started with the assessment and the following day, the help of Endoscope (laryngostroboscope/ thermolaryngoscope). Four days later, Awajah got most of his his voice back to where he can make out most of the letters. Dr. Jadaba put aside a conference he was supposed to attend in Turkey to attend to Mohammed and his family. Three days later, here’s Muhammad in a video of him saying his first words since the accident—from the Koran

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Perhaps the most touching moment came when Mohammed called his son Abboud to tell him that he now has his voice back and they can play together. The seven year old teared up and said, “I Love you Dad!”

Dr. Jadaba has called on Palestinian businesses to provide medical equipment to the main Gaza hospitals and he has gladly pledged to accept any case where his skills are needed. “The only Endoscopes available are the ones in private clinics and not in the public hospitals where they are needed the most.” He added, “the device I used on Mohammad has been decommissioned a long time ago.”

This is a celebration of a strong Palestinian women and a Palestinian professional who despite all odds never stopped exploring. Another hero is the business where Mohammed used to work. They covered all of his medical costs and showed a good business practice. I would add the role of the media in publicizing this story to the public and telling the world about the unbreakable will of the people of Palestine.

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Older Men And Finding Law in Lawless Gaza

My latest articles on my experience with laws and justice in Gaza


When I was in Gaza, I was amazed with how local family councils were able to establish rules and handle situations that some of us in the United States might expect the state or police to deal with. Each family in Gaza has an elder who represents them, speaks on their behalf at meetings, and whatever is agreed upon will be followed by each family. For example, I remember a while back a situation arose when a guy from a different family spit on a dentist from my family. The elders of the families met and made the situation right. The guy who did the spitting had to apologize in public and the dentist's ego was intact. No one had to go beat the guy up or attempt to send spit his way.


read the article on the Huff Post

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Of Cats and Muslims: A Gaza Cat Story

In 2005, the municipalities of Gaza had a cat shortage. Cats are important to Gaza as they serve a great purpose, munching on rodents that gather by the local landfills. Apparently, the local governments used a strong kind of poison; so strong that it killed both the rodents and the cats. As the population of cats dwindled, the rodents ran amok. Those were tough times in Gaza, as little kids were traumatized by increasingly bold rabbit-sized rodents who were running around unchallenged.

The local governments within Gaza starting offering up to a $100 reward for anyone who could bring them cats, as cats were the answer to keep the rodents in check. So when I crossed the Rafah—Egypt border in August of 2005, and had to spend the night at the border holding area in the desert, cats were all over the place. When 4 other dudes and I wanted to eat our dinner, skinny yet adorable cats started gathering around us in the hopes they could eat, too. Luckily, we had enough shitty corned beef to keep them happy.

As the government put a value on cats, and as more people realized the key role played by those cuddly creatures, Gazans started to breed cats, and started to treat cats with more respect. Within a few years the cat population bloomed. But what’s more important is that people now see the value of cats. In the summer of 2009, I was amazed by how many cats were in the streets. What was more amazing is that many homes have a cat or two that shadow them and emerge at the time of supper. My mother-in-law would feed them, and she had one particular cat that could use a treadmill. Living in the US for such a long time, I came to really appreciate the love and attention the people of Gaza give to those cats. Considering Gaza was still under siege and they lost upward of 1,300 hundred Palestinians due to Israeli attacks on Gaza’s population only a few months prior, it was a breath of fresh air to see this relationship.

Muslims’ love for cats is well documented in history; in fact, one of Prophet Muhammad’s companions, the one that narrates many of his accounts with the prophet, is called “Abu Horayrah”, which translates to “the man with a kitten.” Abu Horaryrah used to have a cat on his shoulder all the time. His nickname took over his name so that till this day, few can tell with certainty what was his real name. While dogs are generally kept outside of Muslim homes, kittens are welcome inside it. Before you misunderstand me, there’s a story that in the time of the prophet, a lady who did all kind of wrongs in her life and lived a wicked life, was guaranteed a place in heaven. Why, you ask? She served a thirsty dog water! That sole act was deemed worthy of redeeming her from all her past transgressions.

It was narrated by Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘A woman entered Hell because of a cat which she tied up and did not feed, nor did she let it loose to feed upon the vermin of the earth.’ “ (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3140; Muslim, 2242).

Another interesting fact: Muslims do not believe that you should buy or sell cats and dogs; you can only give them as a gift. This is derived from a hadeeth of Abu’l-Zubayr who said “I asked Jaabir about the price of dogs and cats. He said, ‘The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade that.’ ” (Narrated by Muslim, 1569).

Back to a prank my brothers pulled on me in Gaza. Prior to my arrival in 2009, they found a cat who had just given birth to 3 cute kittens. My brothers asked me to take the kittens to the vet to get them their shots. I told them I’d gladly do it and took the kittens in a cab to the local vet, who mainly dealt with livestock. He looked at the three day-old kittens and said, “Bring them back in a few weeks. Those are too young for any shots and they could die from the effects.” I was disappointed, but I took the kittens back home and found my brothers laughing at me for being a grown man chasing after three kittens to put them in a box for a trip to the vet.

Here’s a video of my rascal nephew, Hani, whose nickname is Foxy. He is running around the cats to put them in the box so that we can transport them to the vet. The picture is of my other nephew Abdallah and his new best friend, a cat that shows up every morning at their apartment. I was told he feeds his cat with a spoon and his mother is enjoying this new friendship as her little boy is learning to take charge of something.


[Hat Tip Kellee Koenig]

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Travel Like A Gazan and Other Cruel Jokes

The separation barrier that separate the Gaza Strip and Egypt continues to be an issue for the residence of the narrow strip. The project which was finished in 2005 prior to Israel’s Gaza pullout

The area borders Israel on the north and east, and entry into Israel is possible only at crossings under its control. Access to and from the Gaza Strip by sea, to the west, and by air, is under Israel's exclusive control. (For more info about the crossing and Israel read B'Tselem)

Israel built a barrier and 200–300 meter buffer zone in the Philadelphi corridor, that’s the distance a bus has to take you from the Palestinian side

To travel out of Gaza, all residents have to sign up with the local government who in turn reject your departure--mostly in criminal and political grounds.

The Egyptians share the info they get from the Palestinians with the Israelis and thus there is a lit of about 20 k to 50 thousand names on that list for people who cannot travel out of Gaza. Some of those on the list can also be criminal or drug deals with some crimes in Egypt. but the majority are people who might have affiliation with militant Palestinian groups.

And there is another list that Fatah helps put for people they do not like, the Mubarak men used to believe anything Fatah said, but this is not true right now.

Some people who are banned from entering Egypt or traveling through it--most Palestinians are not allowed into Egypt, but rather transported to the airport with police escort, a service many Gazans have come to actually enjoy, travel underground through the tunnels on the borders. But this service tends to be shady and not much info about the operation of tunnels is available.

To sum, to travel those 200 to 300 meters, Palestinians have to be given the green light from Hamas, Fatah, Israel and Egypt too. I have gone through this process few times and it's not easy--travel is not easy by nature, but this can be one hell of a humiliating experience that requires patience, resilience and a great deal of luck

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The Video Proof For Gaza's High Unemployment

Gaza is my home, and I laugh when I see videos like these in Gaza, in time for the Eid, the time Muslim slaughter animals honoring the story of Abraham and his son when he was asked to sacrifice him later to be saved by a sheep.

Things got really bad when the bull got loose, droves of young Gaza men and teenagers chased the bull around town hoping to contain him. Not sure what happened, but one thing for sure, I feel bad for the poor bull. He must be terrorized.

This is the kind of video that could start the local chapter for PETA in Gaza. Had all these people had jobs, my aunt would be the one chasing down this animla not droves of youngsters.

مطاردة العجل الهارب2 بالسيارات. Chasing Bulls In Gaza 2011

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Palestinian Prisoners In The Spotlight

(ouida with his wife)

Stories of two newly released Palestinian prisoners have particularity moved me:

1. Ouida Kolab, a 48 year old Gaza man released after spending 23 years in prison--out of which 11 years were in solitary cell. Kolab got out of Israeli jail as a mess. While most of those prisoners have seen hellish days in captivity. Ouida seems to be having the hardest time adjusting back to the real world. Suffering of sever mental problems, always feeling tired and anxious insomnia, stomach ulcers and a wholesale of symptoms. Ouida's body is noticeable frail, worse he is having a hard time finishing a meal as he requires constant medical supervision. His health troubles don't stop there, he has been experiencing trouble with his nervous system with frequent shaking. Ouida is unable to set on a chair and prefers to squad as he was accustomed to in his prison cell. Gaza doctors are trying to treat him by advising his family to treat him as a baby and gradually reintroduce him to the world and a better diet. This is a result of having to spend 23 years in imprisonment that allowed him to be a guest at at least 6 different Israeli prison. (Source)
2. Dahir Qabha, the son of the West Bank city of Jenin is one of over a 100 prisoners exiled into Gaza and not allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank. Months before he was arrested by Israeli forces, he was engaged in 1993 and soon to be married to Raeda, a girl next door love story. Long story short, he spends 18 years in prison and despite all odds and pressure from family and friends Raeda hold out and preserves the very long engagement indeed. 19 years later he is in Gaza and Raeda manged to make it to Gaza--through Jordan and Egypt. And the wedding for the ages takes place, closing a very romantic chapter of this Palestinian story. Couple of family members were able to make it to Gaza--Israel have to give travel clearance, but for a moment Gazans were happy to join the celebration and acted as surrogate family for those love birds. Dahir is the first freed prisoner to get hitched. (source) (pictures)
   

P.S. I do not know what crimes if any those two individuals have been accused of, All know is that they have served a considerable amount of time in confinement. I was simply touched by their very moving stories.

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Relative of the Month

Abood is my nephew, he is one of my favorite nephews, born few weeks after the Israel Gaza offensive and he has developed an extra sensitive lungs so anything gets him sick and he spends plenty of time in the local hospital. I think as he gets older his condition improve. I got to know him and spend plenty of time with him when I was in Gaza as I think he is the first grandchild that looks like my father....Yes he is a mini version of my dad.

Even thought his dad is not from our family or extend one, my sister genes managed to get a copy of our father. So you can imagine how much fun we have with this guy.

I spent a long time with this kid as he eventually started thinking I am his father...it was both funny and wonderful as I was about the only uncle who can make him laugh when I want too, and he smiles and races to me when he sees me enter their home. So here is Abood eating an ice creem on a hot Summer day.

I want to thank his mom for buying a new camera phone so she can take better pictures of him and share them with me.

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The Gazan Who Runs For Love of Running

BBC has a story on a Gazan who likes running, I am impressed to know there are other Gazan who enjoy running...I will make sure I look him up when I head to Gaza in few years. I was amazed by the number of many young Gazans who took running as a sport....I saw many running at night for fun...I was impressed. of course you know I ran on the Gaza beach for a while and then found out about a stadium in my hometown that I used. Too bad they count using meters not miles to count distance.

Again and again, Nader el Masri ran for us. We were filming a number of different mini-features with him. Sometimes, he just had to run a couple of hundred metres, over and over. At other points during the day, he had to put in a 20-minute stretch.

Each time, his running style appeared nothing short of perfect: a picture of symmetry, his upper body still, his eyes cast downwards in imperturbable concentration.

Story

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Gaza Dances With Matt?

Remember Matt?

The young American fun guy who traveled all over the world and got the people of the world to dance one funny dance? I am sure you remember his moves and his humorous video to get people to dance with him.

He went all over the world for his quest....and now he goes to Gaza and does an amazing video to support the work of UNRWA for the Palestinians refugees. I got say props to this busy YouTube sensation filmmaker for going to Gaza.

I remember my friend Kellee telling me about how big Matt has become and now companies are sponsoring him in his quest.

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A Proud Uncle 96.7 Times

I got some good news this morning, I mean 5 AM morning....

My little niece Fatmah, (named after my mother)

Ace her GED exams (Tawjihi), she did ace the thing.....I am a very proud uncle today....

She got 96.7%, one of the top 2o highest grades in the Gaza Strip....I had to wake up Roa and tell her the news...we both were expecting Fatmah to get in the range of lower 90s.....but she got even higher and I did lost my best to her,

In my year I got 92.4%, two years later my sister Niveen gets to 91.1%, a year later Roa beat me in her year 94.4%, now Fatham topped all of us with her 96.7%

I had promised Fathmah if she beats my score and Roa's, I will be sending her a laptop....this is the one bet I am happy to deliver on.....I got the laptop this morning and it should be at Fatmah's in a matter of 3 week.

We are very proud, her parents are especially proud, my parents are celebrating.....the good work of their first grandchild to ace that grade.

I know my dad will probably tear up....as for Fatmah I spoke to her this morning and she is happy....she asked me to deliver on my promise and I think she wants to get into English literature program in a local university.

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Video: Gaza Kids Bounce It

UNRWA, the UN entity that cares for the Palestinians refugees has a summer camp in Gaza....

Watch this promo video for this event in which those kids will attempt to break the world record in the number of basketballs bounced....they will all gather in the ruins of the Gaza airport, near Rafah.

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Made in Gaza Kids

People in Gaza have way too many kids, and they do not care, they just want babies. Most families have upward of five kids. All his life in Gaza my friend Hassan has been told by his doctors he is sterile, not sure what that means as he has two kids so far. I wonder if he was fertile, how many will he have?

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Two Cents on Beards

From personal observations I made in Gaza and elsewhere, I have came to conclude that the size of a Muslim man's beard is an indicator of two things:

-The longer his beard, the better his cooking skills are. It's also true that men with beards in Gaza tend to appreciate food a lot more non bearded men. Some are even overweight. Something tell me that religious people might be prone to being fatter than non religious people. Think about out it, many non religious people have many forms to vent and channel their energy (drinking,partying), the religious not as much. It's true for Gaza and also true for Utah and the Bible belt where obesity is a problem.
-Men with long beards more often than not tend to be married to more than one woman.

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Palestinian Kitchen

For you cooking fans, here is an episode of Palestinians reality show with a number successful women. In this segment, the girls make some food (Stuffed grape leaves, zucchini and cake) The Gaza girls bakes only a cake (maybe they took(Mary Antoinette's Advice))

Great revealing conversations about the mentality of some Palestinian women, their fears and their struggles. Do not panic, it's all in English. Enjoy

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Gaza Ho Hos

Something that I noticed has gotten popular in Gaza is Ho Hos cakes made by Hostess Cakes. Hostess has a planet that bakes or manufactures these addictive cakes in Egypt. It's the one thing that smugglers know that will see in Gaza. People in Gaza take these as gifts when they exchange visits. A box of Ho Hos sells for about 2.5 bucks and makes an awesome gift as the kids love it.

My sister Samah knew that I enjoyed these so she would make sure to offer me some when I visit her home. I have gotten known for these even with the little kids, I would always bring them some as I come to visit them. Tiger Tail, another Hostess Cake product is also popular with the kids in Gaza, I did not enjoy it much however. Something about the chocolate and the creme in a Ho Ho that makes me happy.

This is not a very good thing for the local Gaza food factories as they used to make similar cookies and cakes that Palestinians have consumed. The Egyptian made Ho Hos kill the local industries that employees tens of families. most of those factories have shut down or have limited production as they are no longer able to bring in the material to produce cookies in Gaza. The one thing they can do is fortified cookies, as Israel allows the material for those to come in--humanitarian goods have easier time making it to Gaza.

No, I have not tried to score some Ho Hos since I have gotten back to the Stated, I do not even desire them here, but I know they made my day in Gaza.

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A Gaza Barber Vs. A Fusion Cartridge

One of the strange things I encountered in Gaza last summer is the issue of shaving. my facial hair. I took my Gillette Razor with me, thinking my trip would be short, I only took two cartridges. Needless to say when the stopped working after two months of shaving in Gaza. When I headed to the local pharmacy to see if they had the new Fusion razors I was glad to learn that they had them in stock. I was sad however to see that it would cost me 8 US dollars to buy on cartridge. Here you can get them for about 3 dollars each. The ones they had in Gaza are smuggled from Egypt and I was not able to verify where they were manufactured. Here is the thing, to get a professional barber to shave your facial hair in Gaza it costs about a dollar. Say you shave once a week, this would be 4.5 dollars a month. Still cheaper than the average tunnel smuggled cartridge. Had you wanted to find a barber in the States to shave your facial hair for you, it would be upward of 10 dollars. I am afraid finding a barber that would do such a task in America would be a hard mission as people in the States have many fears when it comes to blood.

This is how funny the siege is, contradictions all around. No wonder why less men Gaza kids shave nowadays. I am glad to report that the people that gave me the most trouble about not shaving where my own mother and my mother in law, my sisters are runners up.

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Some Lessons From Today's Lecture

Some Take away from a ;lecture at the Palestine Center Today

About letting Hamas get into the Palestinian government:

“We let the Bull in the china house and told the bull, you own the store now, we are watching you”

On Israel and Negotiation:

“Israel wants to negotiate on the pizza while eating it; they negotiations are on what is left of the pizza.”

Israel wants to Tell Palestinians that Guns do not help their cause:
“The Israelis want the Palestinians to submit into peace, they are telling the Palestinians gun will do you no good, while pointing a gun at the their heads” To proof this lesson true, the Palestinians have to win, but the truth is Israel always wins with guns.

Those might not be the exact quotes but this is what I took away form today's lecture at the Center.

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Out of Favors in Finding Gaza Party Favors

A piece I wrote about the little sorties of Gaza that goes unnoticed under the blockade on the people of Gaza.

I sat to write about the things I had to go through to find party favors in Gaza for my engagement this summer. I was reluctant to put the story on the Huff post as I thought it might be too personal, but then I said what would be the problem if they had said no. Fortunately, I was glad to see many non-politcal websites and blogs pick up the story and re-post it. I must say thanks to my freind from college Clay for his edits on the draft I sent his way

Summer in Gaza is the season of wedding and engagement parties. Just like the rest of the world, Palestinians enjoy celebrating the happy occasions with flowers, music, dancing, food and gifts. During my summer in Gaza, while I was stuck there for more than four months, I noticed that wedding parties provide the only venue where Palestinians could celebrate free of politics and free of sorrow, allowing themselves to escape a dim reality of a life under siege. I know especially well because while there I planned my own engagement party -- booking a party hall on the sandy Gaza beach, hiring a DJ, a photographer and caterer as well as ordering a cake. In it all I had to deal with the reality of Gaza where many services have been affected by the siege and where limited goods are allowed into the narrow strip of land.

Here is the link

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The Gaza Experience # 6 Gaza Needs a DSW Store

Getting stuck in Gaza was not my proudest moments, but getting stuck there without having brought my good shoes is a colossal mistake. I did take five pairs of shoes that I planned to leave back in Gaza as I thought I do not like those as much anymore. So in other words, I left my most comfortable shoes in the States and just took the ones that I wish not to see again. It turns out that besieged Gaza is not a place to find shoes any shoes for that matter. Israel does not allow these into Gaza anymore, the Egyptians shoes brought from the tunnels are either of inferior quality or really expensive markup as Egypt places heavy customs on foreign leather products as part of their effort to encourage local industries. This explains that shoe theft from the Gaza mosques where it is really had to tell your shoes from others as pretty much shoes in Gaza come from one source and they all look similar.

Also the West Bank has been providing Gaza with a lot of she shoes in the past as they have been making shoes in Hebron for generations. As a result of the Gaza siege, those shoes are not allowed in. I believe the only two items that Israeli allows the West Bank companies to sell in Gaza are dairy products and medications. As I was preparing for my engagement party, I needed a pair of dark dressy shows and since my in laws live closer to the city and are familiar with the big stores, they offered help.

We first went to downtown Gaza, Alrimal, Gaza’s nicest business district. We stopped by Alandlos fashion store, we did not find what we want, we went to couple of other stores and could not find what we were looking for as the shirts do not quite fit my long arms and my shoulder. I was shocked by how expensive Chinese made shirts are…I believe at Marshals you can find the same ones for $14.99, but since Gaza has few suppliers, these shirts where in the upward of 40 dollars. The store owners were insulted as they were taking pride in their products and I was telling them, do not be too proud. We went to Alnasir district, another nice area in Gaza that has shops and restaurants.

We stopped by the ‘Marshal” stores, we did find the tie, I had agreed with my father in law I would let him pay for the tie, but I pay for the shirt. We did not find the shirt we wanted, so we ended having to go back to Alrimal and bought a shirt that we thought would be good. I haggled with the guy and got it for a bit more than 30 dollars. For the shoe, we ended up going to Alsheikh Ridwan market, a business district that has similar goods sold at the nice districts for less. The biggest shoe store “Basal” that once was too busy to talk to you and used to have so many inventories that you could not put your feet on the ground. Needless to say, the store now looks abandoned, lots of dusty shelves and not too many choices nor customers.

I did finally find a dark pair that would do the job, but they are so uncomfortable that I had to literary crushed my feet in to fit. The store owner claimed that this shoe is made in Hebron and shipped to Egypt then smuggled to Gaza from the tunnels as opposed to being shipped straight to Gaza. I think he wanted 50 dollars for that pair, I think my father in law and I ganged up on the guy and got it for a bit under 40 dollars. When I got home, my family said, this is a bargain you do not find many of these shoes anymore in Gaza. I wore the shoe for my engagement and I did wear it twice after that and I was so happy to leave it back in Gaza, something I did to all my shoes.

A number of NGOs in Gaza has recognized the lack of shoes in Gaza and launched shoes for Gaza campaigns, I know ANERA and the UNRWA have both giving out shoes for school children.

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