World Vision JWG National Director, Alex Snary, visits Gaza days after ceasefire

On November 27, 2012 World Vision Jerusalem-West Bank-Gaza’s National Director, Alex Snary, visited the northern part of the Gaza Strip to take part in a preliminary assessment of the destruction caused by Israel’s most recent military operation in the area. World Vision has Area Development Programmes (ADP) in North and South Gaza which works to improve the wellbeing of children through the implementation of projects that include, but are not limited to: improving the livelihoods of rural families; creating emergency job opportunities; vocational training, and rehabilitating agricultural and fishing infrastructures. The visit focused on Gaza’s agricultural sector and specifically on the needs of fishermen, who have faced restricted access to their fishing waters since Israel’s military blockade.

While in Gaza, Snary met with several farmers and fishermen and listened to their accounts of how the recent military operation has affected their families’ livelihoods as well as the psychological impact the recent conflict has had on their children.

In addition to speaking to individuals on the ground, he visited several agricultural lands and greenhouses used to grow cucumber, tomatoes, flowers, and strawberries. Ten greenhouses were completely destroyed, leaving the families who depended on them as their only source of income, especially in winter, wondering how they will provide for their family’s needs.

The farmers are devastated by the destruction of their crops, their only source of income. "We are the ones who pay the price," said Rezeq El-Attar, owner of a poultry farm. North Gaza ADP Manager Mohammed Al-Halaby said, “the farmers looked [at] their farms and [destroyed] trees with tears. The trees they planted were like their sons. To them [the destruction of their crops] is like the death of their baby. Some of the families had just recently been able to rehabilitate their farms from the damage created by Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s last major military operation which took place in the winter of 2008-2009.

Snary also met with the Beit Lahia a Local Committee at which priorities were set to shape the next phase of response and enhance the livelihood of community. The people of Beit Lahia expressed an urgent need for the rehabilitation of their community’s water systems, creation of safe spaces of their children, the implementation of psychological programs, as well as the need for organic fertilizers and greenhouses.

After several years of being restricted to the finish waters just three nautical miles off Gaza’s coast, the fishermen Snary spoke to were happy that they would now be permitted to reach waters up to 6 nautical miles from their coast, which could significantly improve their daily income.[1] However, they were concerned about their ability to access the longer fishing distance with their existing equipment and expressed a need for better motors for their boats.

Lastly, those who Snary spoke Al-Halaby who said, “the most common thing we’ve heard from our beneficiaries is that, ‘The children are scared,’” as he described the impact the most recent military operation had on the most vulnerable—the children—especially on a psychological level. They have been subjected to continuous bombings and air raids. The farmers, in particular, said they did all they could to relieve the distress and the fear of their children who would wake up at night on the sound of a near explosion crying. They said that their children are still suffering and are in urgent need of psychological post-trauma treatment.

The Palestinians of the Gaza Strip have suffered under a land, sea and air blockade since 2007 when the current ruling political party, Hamas, took control of the area. Prior to that time, Gazans faced severe restrictions on access and movement in and out of the Gaza Strip as well as within the borders, such as the Israeli-imposed buffer zone and the fishing waters. Much of Gaza’s most fertile land lies within the buffer zone, which Gazans have in most cases been restricted from accessing.

Prior to November 2012, Israel’s last military operation in the Gaza Strip, which took place during the winter of 2008-2009, Operation Cast Lead, left many of Gaza’s homes and infrastructure severely damaged. Paired with a grave economic situation, worsened by the five year military blockade as well as the lingering devastation of the Gaza Strip is now further impoverished and families face additional obstacles. “This moment reminds of the situation after Cast Lead, just slightly less,” says Al-Halaby. “If you go to the northern part of Gaza, everyone is suffering. Every person has been affected by the most recent attacks in some way.”

Israel’s most recent military operation, known as Operation Pillar of Defence, in the Gaza strip resulted in the death of 163 Palestinians, between 29 and 32 of which are estimated to be children. More than 1,000 other people were injured.  According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the operation left over 350 Palestinian families in Gaza displaced as a result of damaged homes and over 20,000 currently without water supply due to destroyed pipelines. Six Israelis were killed and 224 were injured due to the escalation in violence. [2]

World Vision calls for an end to all violence in the region. As a child-focused organization, World Vision believes that all children have the right to live and grow up in safety, free from violence and fear that both Palestinian and Israeli suffer from as a result of violence or the threat thereof.

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