Mothers in the Dark; how an electricity crisis is impacting Gazan families
Days without fuel and nights without electricity. Children collect old clothes to help their mothers stoke up a fire for cooking and for warmth. Nervous parents try to ensure children keep a distance from burning candles and kerosene stoves. This is the reality for the people, families, children, and mothers of Gaza. A glimpse into the lives of Gazan mothers this International Women’s Day, March 8, reveals their daily challenges, surrounded by darkness.A new pledge by the European Union to resume payments for fuel for the Gaza Power Plant is welcome, but until the pledge is translated into power, the people of Gaza will be surrounded by darkness, now both literally, as well as figuratively.
Since the European Commission stopped the direct funding of fuel in the Gaza Strip, the one and only power plant has experienced a severe shortage of fuel.
My children gather old clothes from nearby streets to help build a fire. My children are now used to this kind of cooking The result? The average Gazan family is submerged in darkness for up to 12 hours a day. According to a recent United Nations report, only 38% of the fuel and 60% of the cooking gas needed each week in Gaza are being delivered (1).
Israeli authorities have shut down the Nahal Oz crossing, which was the main entry for cooking gas, forcing residents to rely on the much reduced supply through Kerem Shalom Crossing.
“In the absence of electricity or cooking gas, we have gone back to the middle ages style of life… My children gather old clothes from nearby streets to help build a fire. My children are now used to this kind of cooking”, says Gazan mother Jameela Abu Shallouf, known as “Um Ameer” (Mother of Ameer) to friends and family.
Jameela’s story is painfully common around Gaza. Food cannot be stored in refrigerators, and many mothers resort to clay ovens and open fires to cook food for their families. Money is painstakingly saved to provide what little light can be found.
“At night, we light candles and set them on the ground inside the room, where my duty and their father’s is to observe the candles and warn the children not to get too close to them,” she explains.
Gaza’s power plant is now running on just one of four turbines. Each day brings the same uncertainty: how long will the electricity last? Fuel is consumed as soon as it arrives.
Ultimately, it is the blockade that has led to "Lights Out" for Gazan families. Despite its obligations as an occupying power, Israel does not provide sufficient electricity to Gaza. At the same time, the blockade has crippled economic activity, which prevents people in Gaza from buying fuel for electricity.
“Electricity is our life. I cannot provide hot water for my children to shower. I am very sad… When I look into the eyes of my children, I feel the desire to scream,” says Nahla, a 31-year-old mother of five.
“There is no cooking gas, so we use a kerosene stove despite the danger that my children and I face, as I heard that such stoves can cause a house fire,” says 29-year-old mother of three, Samar El Atamneh, known as “Um Jamal”.
Driven by desperation, many families in Gaza purchase low-power generators- another dangerous alternative to darkness. These cheaper, low-power generators have resulted in carbon monoxide poisoning and generator fires, which in the past two months alone have claimed the lives of 15 people, including three children who were sleeping next to a generator (2).
A further 75 people died due to generator leaks and fires last year.
There is no cooking gas, so we use a kerosene stove despite the danger that my children and I face, as I heard that such stoves can cause a house fire Assistance is trickling down in the form of what little aid international humanitarian organisations manage to offer. But for Jameela, Nahla, Samar, and so many other mothers in Gaza, the future looks bleak.
All of their husbands are unemployed, and their families are reliant upon humanitarian organisations such as World Vision and UNRWA, as well as the kindness and charity of family and friends.
In the words of Um Ameer, “Every day, I witness my children growing up in an ongoing blockade and conflict. I always dream of a day such things end...I hope my children will have a better future.”
Sources
1) United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Protection of Civilians, February 24-March 2 2010, available at http://tiny.cc/pZiyf
2) United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Protection of Civilians, February 17-23, 2010, available http://tiny.cc/QTaaj
UPDATE:
As of April 10, 2010, the operation of the Gaza Power Plant was stopped completely, as the necessary fuel needed for operation ran out. The reason for this seems to be a political conflict between the two governments of Ramallah and Gaza. According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, the Power Authority in Gaza’s Vice President, Engineer Cana\'an \'Obeid has stated that this shortage is due to the Ramallah government\'s failure to transfer the necessary payments for the industrial fuel bill needed for the Plant to operate. The Ramallah government spokesperson, Dr. Ghassan Al-Khatib, however, purports that the Gaza Electricity Company (GEDCO) has not contributed its necessary share of the necessary operating fuel cost. According to PCHR, a financial deficit has been witnessed by GEDCO, as 60% of consumers are not paying their bills, either due to the assumption that the EU is covering the cost or due to frustration directed at the conflict between the governments of Ramallah and Gaza. In the meantime, the electrical shortage in Gaza has increased to 50%, and the local population is paying the price. Many fear that access to basic services such as sanitation and health services may be affected, and the suffering of the people will be exacerbated further.
Since the European Commission stopped the direct funding of fuel in the Gaza Strip, the one and only power plant has experienced a severe shortage of fuel.
My children gather old clothes from nearby streets to help build a fire. My children are now used to this kind of cooking The result? The average Gazan family is submerged in darkness for up to 12 hours a day. According to a recent United Nations report, only 38% of the fuel and 60% of the cooking gas needed each week in Gaza are being delivered (1).
Israeli authorities have shut down the Nahal Oz crossing, which was the main entry for cooking gas, forcing residents to rely on the much reduced supply through Kerem Shalom Crossing.
“In the absence of electricity or cooking gas, we have gone back to the middle ages style of life… My children gather old clothes from nearby streets to help build a fire. My children are now used to this kind of cooking”, says Gazan mother Jameela Abu Shallouf, known as “Um Ameer” (Mother of Ameer) to friends and family.
Jameela’s story is painfully common around Gaza. Food cannot be stored in refrigerators, and many mothers resort to clay ovens and open fires to cook food for their families. Money is painstakingly saved to provide what little light can be found.
“At night, we light candles and set them on the ground inside the room, where my duty and their father’s is to observe the candles and warn the children not to get too close to them,” she explains.
Gaza’s power plant is now running on just one of four turbines. Each day brings the same uncertainty: how long will the electricity last? Fuel is consumed as soon as it arrives.
Ultimately, it is the blockade that has led to "Lights Out" for Gazan families. Despite its obligations as an occupying power, Israel does not provide sufficient electricity to Gaza. At the same time, the blockade has crippled economic activity, which prevents people in Gaza from buying fuel for electricity.
“Electricity is our life. I cannot provide hot water for my children to shower. I am very sad… When I look into the eyes of my children, I feel the desire to scream,” says Nahla, a 31-year-old mother of five.
“There is no cooking gas, so we use a kerosene stove despite the danger that my children and I face, as I heard that such stoves can cause a house fire,” says 29-year-old mother of three, Samar El Atamneh, known as “Um Jamal”.
Driven by desperation, many families in Gaza purchase low-power generators- another dangerous alternative to darkness. These cheaper, low-power generators have resulted in carbon monoxide poisoning and generator fires, which in the past two months alone have claimed the lives of 15 people, including three children who were sleeping next to a generator (2).
A further 75 people died due to generator leaks and fires last year.
There is no cooking gas, so we use a kerosene stove despite the danger that my children and I face, as I heard that such stoves can cause a house fire Assistance is trickling down in the form of what little aid international humanitarian organisations manage to offer. But for Jameela, Nahla, Samar, and so many other mothers in Gaza, the future looks bleak.
All of their husbands are unemployed, and their families are reliant upon humanitarian organisations such as World Vision and UNRWA, as well as the kindness and charity of family and friends.
In the words of Um Ameer, “Every day, I witness my children growing up in an ongoing blockade and conflict. I always dream of a day such things end...I hope my children will have a better future.”
Sources
1) United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Protection of Civilians, February 24-March 2 2010, available at http://tiny.cc/pZiyf
2) United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Protection of Civilians, February 17-23, 2010, available http://tiny.cc/QTaaj
UPDATE:
As of April 10, 2010, the operation of the Gaza Power Plant was stopped completely, as the necessary fuel needed for operation ran out. The reason for this seems to be a political conflict between the two governments of Ramallah and Gaza. According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, the Power Authority in Gaza’s Vice President, Engineer Cana\'an \'Obeid has stated that this shortage is due to the Ramallah government\'s failure to transfer the necessary payments for the industrial fuel bill needed for the Plant to operate. The Ramallah government spokesperson, Dr. Ghassan Al-Khatib, however, purports that the Gaza Electricity Company (GEDCO) has not contributed its necessary share of the necessary operating fuel cost. According to PCHR, a financial deficit has been witnessed by GEDCO, as 60% of consumers are not paying their bills, either due to the assumption that the EU is covering the cost or due to frustration directed at the conflict between the governments of Ramallah and Gaza. In the meantime, the electrical shortage in Gaza has increased to 50%, and the local population is paying the price. Many fear that access to basic services such as sanitation and health services may be affected, and the suffering of the people will be exacerbated further.
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