MWR : The plight of Gaza

Last updated November 24.

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Jan. 12, 2009 issue

The plight of Gaza

By Marlow Ediger North Newton, Kan.

The eyes of the world are upon the Gaza Strip, a land along the Mediterranean coast with about 140 square miles and 1.5 million people. The Palestinian inhabitants are descendants or come directly from results of Israeli/Palestinian wars, particularly the 1948 war when Israel became a nation. With its dense population, Gaza greatly lacks food, medical supplies and other necessities. Frequent embargoes keep the people from obtaining these necessities. They dig tunnels to Egypt attempting to secure what is needed. Even then, Palestinians in Gaza face dire economic situations. They became independent two years ago and are governed by Hamas, which won an election democratically.

Hamas has fired many rockets into southern Israel, with very little damage inflicted. The rockets generally land in open regions but do cause considerable anxiety for those living in that general area. On Dec. 26, Israel started bombing the Gaza Strip heavily, with many casualties resulting. Israeli ground forces entered on Jan. 3 to locate and destroy remaining tunnels going from Gaza to Egypt.

It is unfortunate that Palestinians suffer from the heavy bombing and ground invasions. Being refugees or descendants of refugees is hard. Add to that embargoes of even basic necessities, heavy bombing and a ground invasion, and the Palestinians’ plight is unthinkable. I have taught school and worked with Palestinians in refugee camps, but it is difficult for me to fathom what life must be like for the people of the Gaza Strip.

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