Gazas paralysis: the story of Arab Dola

Monday 10 Feb 2014

Miller on Foreign Affairs One day in April last year, Gazas for er !"ng#f" $ha pion, a po%erf"lly#b"ilt 2&# year#old $alled Arab Dola, %as standing on the $onstr"$tion site %here he %or!ed %hen a large etal $ontainer toppled off the roof of the b"ilding abo'e hi (

)e did not see it $o ing(

*n a instant, Arab Dolas f"t"re $r" bled to d"st, 'ertebrae +4, +,, +& and +-, $r"shed and splintered( )is spinal $ord, se'ered( )is life, irreparably altered( .oday, he lies paralysed and rasping for breath in the tiny front roo do%n sl" 1"adraplegi$, $apable of a!ing only the slightest of of a t" ble# d%elling in Gazas $ro%ded and fetid /ea$h 0ef"gee +a p, a o'e ents %ith his no%

%asted left ar ( )e needs total $are, ro"nd#the#$lo$!( 2e3t to hi , baby Asil, his t%o# onth old da"ghter, $oos in her $ot( Arab learned that his yo"ng %ife, Dalia, %as pregnant as he lay in a ne$! bra$e %ith t"bes do%n his throat( 4ntil then, hed been $ons$io"s thro"gho"t 5 and hadnt slept for 10 days fro the pain( /"t %hen he heard the glad tidings, he %ent into $ardia$ arrest(

*f *d e'er tho"ght this eyes bri

ight happen, * %o"ld ne'er ha'e lost( And

arried,6 he tells

e, his

ing %ith tears( 7* a

y f"t"re is lost(6 )e nods to a

photograph of hi self, $a"ght painf"l sigh( 0ats and asbestos

id#l"nge in his /r"$e 8ee days, and e3hales a long,

Gaza is f"ll of fa ily tragedies and after se'en years of *sraeli siege and a $o atose e$ono y, nearly e'eryone is str"ggling( /"t paralysis is %hat best des$ribes the Dola fa ilys $ondition, ha'ing lost their sole bread#%inner( Arabs father, Moha $rossing o'er fro ed, has not %or!ed for years, sin$e *srael barred labo"rers Gaza( )e and his %ife, 9o"sra, ha'e three other $hildren: and

then theres Dalia and the baby( .here %as no food in their fridge, %hi$h doesnt %or! any%ay, as theres no ele$tri$ity( )e %as gri y right hand,6 says Moha ed, o"t of the bl"e, as %e sit dis$"ssing the edi$al $are he re1"ires for his $o ple3 sit"ation in Gaza( .he fa ily has been "nable to find or afford a proper

%heel$hair for Arab, let alone the $ondition( 9o"sra gi'es the bedroo

e a to"r of their dar! and $r" bling ho e( .he pla$e is spotless b"t and !it$hen and bathroo are infested %ith rats and the plasti$ sheet

roof, %eighed do%n by ro$!s, is badly $ra$!ed( And "nder the plasti$, she says, pointing to the $eiling, asbestos boards, bro!en and e3posed( *n the $abin !it$hen, 9o"sra r"ns the tap and fills a glass f"ll of %ater( 7.aste it,6 she says( * ta!e a sip( *ts as salty as sea#%ater 5 %hi$h is pretty Mediterranean has infiltrated into Gazas gro"nd%ater "$h %hat it is, as the a!ing %hats left of the

near#e pty $oastal a1"ifer "ndrin!able( 9et for fa ilies li!e the Dolas, %ho $an rarely afford to b"y %hat 9o"sra $alls 7s%eet %ater,6 thats %hat they'e got( Desperate Gaza is r"nning on e pty( Condemned by the United Nations as 7rapidly be$o ing "ninhabitable,6 this s"ffo$ating, o'er#$ro%ded prison of a pla$e,

blo$!aded by land, sea and air, is a h" an press"re#$oo!er( *ts 1(inhabitants, $risis and daily distress( Follo%ing the de ise of the M"sli the ;gyptian

illion

any i po'erished and "nderno"rished, li'e in a s"stained state of /rotherhood go'ern ent in neighbo"ring Egypt,

ilitary t"rned on the /rotherhoods brethren in Gaza < )a as, the

*sla ist gro"p %hi$h has r"led here sin$e 200-( (Above: Hamas and Islamic Jihad stage a demo in Gaza City against John e!!y"s peace plan#$ .hey a$$"sed )a as, %hi$h is pros$ribed as a terrorist organisation by the 4nited =tates and ;"rope, of s"pplying =alafist ilitants in ;gypt %ith %eapons( .hey said all "p( er$e and 2? per $ent last they %ere being s "ggled thro"gh the 1,200 t"nnels "nder the %alled frontier bet%een Gaza and the Arab 0ep"bli$( .he ;gyptians ble% the sin$e their destr"$tion, "ne ploy ent in Gaza has >" ped fro year to 4? per $ent no%( @ob prospe$ts are zero( For those %ho ha'e >obs, %ages are do%n( Ari$es, prod"$e no% $o es into Gaza fro she sho%ed ean%hile, ha'e shot "p, as all *srael( ;'en before the t"nnels %ere destroyed, e: 7.oday is the 11th day sin$e %e'e $oo!ed .he tro"ble is, the t"nnels also ser'ed as a lifeline for trade and $o

people %ere spending half the ho"sehold in$o e on food alone( 9o"sra Dola, %hen e ro"nd her ho"se, told any food(6 .hat night all the fa ily had to eat %as a bag of to atoes(

(Above: the ma!%et in Gaza City$ .he 42 no% says ore than one third of Gazans li'e belo% the 42 po'erty line, %ith fo"r o"t of fi'e in need of h" anitarian aid( .he 42 0elief and Bor!s Agen$y C420BAD 5 %hi$h e3ists to assist Aalestinian ref"gees 5 is no% feeding a re$ord ,0 per $ent of the Gaza pop"lation( 7;'erything is "ns"stainable,6 says 420BA spo!es an, +hris G"nness( 7*ts desperate(6 420BA rations ha'e had to be $"t in re$ent are too onths, as the agen$y has failed to attra$t the international f"nding it needs( Mr G"nness s"spe$ts its be$a"se there any other $rises else%here in this region( .he h" anitarian $atastrophe in Gaza, %hi$h lang"ishes in isery, 'irt"ally =yria has di'erted attention fro

forgotten( *n his dan!, dar! front roo !"ng#f" !ing lies there, a in /ea$h +a p, Arab Dola, Gazas paralysed for er etaphor for his $rippled Enation( After his a$$ident, the arried to hi any ore(

fa ily of his shy, soft#spo!en 22#year#old %ife Dalia $a e and too! her ba$! to the fa ily ho e, telling her it %as no life for her to be and $a e ba$! to Arab( * said to her: E*ts OF, * %ill di'or$e yo",6 Arab tells predi$a ent( 7=he ref"sed and told espe$ially no%( Dalia lo'es e(6 y ind and * p"t it to Arab: 7Bhen e, f"lly $o prehending her e, e there %as no %ay she %o"ld lea'e /"t one night, shortly after%ards, at ?a , Dalia es$aped fro her parents ho"se

/aby Asil starts to $ry and Dalia $o es into the roo ( Be $hange the s"b>e$t( As %e prepare to lea'e, a strange 1"estion $o es into 8eeG6 Arab s iles < and hes got a infe$tio"s grin( 7*n y drea s * a %or!ing and %al!ing and r"nning and playing( And * belie'e that be$a"se of these drea s, * %ill one day be able to %or! and %al! and r"n and play again(6 Be %ere "tterly spee$hless( &ollo' (mille!c) on *'itte!# # =ee ore at: http:HHblogs($hannel4($o H iller#on#foreign#affairsHgazas#paralysis# story#arab#dolaH&0-Isthash()$&4Mn12(dp"f Posted by Thavam yo" sleep,6 * as!, 7are yo", in yo"r drea s, as yo" are no% or are yo" still /r"$e