International Refugee Day - June 20, 2015

Palestinians are the largest and longest suffering group of refugees in the world. One in three refugees world wide is Palestinian. There are about 6.5 million Palestinian refugees worldwide. More than 3.8 million Palestinian refugees and their descendents displaced in 1948 are registered for humanitarian assistance with the United Nations. Another 1.5 million Palestinian refugees and their descendents, also displaced in 1948, are not registered with the UN. About 263,000 Palestinians and their descendents are internally displaced i.e. inside present-day "Israel".

     Descendents of refugees are included in the total population because they are still unable to realize their basic rights. About 20,000 Palestinians were internally displaced in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by 2001, some 3,000 of whom were newly displaced during that year. At least 26,000 Palestinians left the West Bank and Gaza Strip for Jordan and did not return between June 2000 and July 2001. Such transfer of the Palestinian population driven by hard econmic and discriminatory conditions continues today. 

 auphr.org/index.php/resources/factsheets/refugees/15-how-many-palestinian-refugees-are-there-today

The refugee camps began as tent cities in 1948. The inhabitants expected to be returning home in a matter of days or weeks.

It has now been a matter of generations. In many places they are refused permission to work. In others, access to available work is restricted by checkpoints. 

Political conditions and restrictions as well as  frequent outbreaks of violence conspire to keep the inhabitants from gathering the resources needed to move out of the camps.

(See http://www.unrwa.org for this and other photos of refugee camps and refugee life.)

http://sandhpublishing.com/Kalandia.html

One such checkpoint is Kalandia (often spelled Qalandia). Checkpoints Project on Youtube has a series of 6 videos focusing on the checkpoints. The first is Kalandia: A Checkpoint Story that shows the evolution of the checkpoint.

My novel, Checkpoint Kalandia, shows the impact such a checkpoint can have on the everyday life of a refugee family.

http://www.unrwa.org/donate

Many of these families still rely on the generosity of others
to survive. In honor of World Refugee Day, please consider making a donation to help them. 

International Literacy Day
September 8, 2014

  "Literacy is a key lever of change and a practical tool of empowerment on each of the three main pillars of sustainable development: economic development, social development and environmental protection."

Former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan

- See more at: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/literacy-day/#sthash.xl208HWW.Hay7bl2e.dpufhttp://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/literacy-day/#sthash.xl208HWW.Hay7bl2e.dpuf

Today is International Literacy Day, a day to celebrate and encourage literacy. All over the world tremendous strides are being made in literacy and education, but there are many notable exceptions. There are even places, such as Gaza, where literacy is moving the wrong way. Children are being hampered in their learning by external forces.

According to the New York Times, there are 648 schools in Gaza with 421 of the buildings being shared in double shifts. Since the recent violence, 34 buildings have been damaged beyond repair and dozens more need major repairs. Add the addition of 60,000 people whose homes were destroyed that are being sheltered in school buildings, and you have an insurmountable problem. (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/06/world/middleeast/broken-buildings-and-bruised-psyches-complicate-start-of-gaza-school-year.html?_r=0)

Schools are already three weeks late, and an opening day is not in sight. Even if schools were to open tomorrow, how many children would be able to study and learn? Democracy Now! Gives August 21 numbers as: 500 kids dead, 3,000 injured (over 1,000 of whom will suffer from lifelong disability), and 373,000 traumatized. Pernille Ironside, chief of UNICEF’s Gaza field office said, “There isn’t a single family in Gaza who hasn’t experienced personally death, injury, the loss of their home, extensive damage, displacement, The psychological toll that has on a people, it just cannot be overestimated, and especially on children."

http://www.democracynow.org/2014/8/21/a_war_on_gazas_future_israeli

Sadly, many of these children may never reach their full potential, yet there are ways we can help.

You can help UNRWA rebuild schools in Gaza

Click here to donate
***DONATE TO THE GAZA EMERGENCY APPEAL TODAY***

UNRWA must repair, rebuild, equip schools and they also provide food and counseling when they can.

Gaza: after 45 years of occupation

Imagine living your entire life in an area of 146 square miles—a place that would barely accommodate a marathon run from one end to the other, and an average person could walk across in an hour.  Now imagine sharing that space with 1.5 million people whose average income is a little over a dollar a day.  By comparison, the city of Los Angeles city limits cover over 469 square miles. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_square_miles_does_Los_Angeles_cover

Now that you are in your imaginary over-crowded poverty-stricken ghetto, add the constant violence.  The Israeli assault, Operation Cast Lead (Dec 2008-Jan 2009) showed a spectacle of exploding bombs dropped from F-15s and Apache helicopters, catching the attention of the international media for a brief time.  Smaller attacks continue, unremarked by media attention.
Death by military violence is not the only danger in Gaza.  Infrastructure supplying electricity, water, sewer services never recovered from the destruction of the attack, partly due to the continued blockade that restricts fuel and electricity and combines an embargo on agricultural exports and imports of building materials, medicines, medical devices and equipment. http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/98B5A22F069CF2958525772600740AB5

The World Health Orga­ni­za­tion reports that there is a health and envi­ron­men­tal disaster in the Gaza Strip due to the destruc­tion of infra­struc­ture and sewage systems: the pathogen content of drinking-water samples is 16% (the universal water safety norm rec­om­mended by inter­na­tional standards is 1%). … It has been estimated that the health status of nearly 40% of those suffering from chronic diseases has dete­ri­o­rated as a result of the reduction in health-care services.

One international effort to supply precious cargo of penicillin and baby formula fail after repeated efforts to get the supplies into Gaza were thwarted.  http://www.newsletter.co.uk/community/letters/gaza-siege-is-heartbreaking-and-corrupt-1-3929843

The blockade is a major factor in the pervasive poverty.  Without the ability to leave Gaza, men who once supported their families by working in other areas can no longer find jobs.  Small factories can no longer bring in raw materials.  Badly needed construction cannot be done because the building materials cannot be brought into the area.  Even school books and materials are severely restricted. 

"Every third child in Gaza stunted by hunger": interview with renowned doctor Mads Gilbert an article in The Electronic Intifada dated 7 June 2012 describes just one of the results of living under the conditions that exist in Gaza.http://electronicintifada.net/content/every-third-child-gaza-stunted-hunger-interview-renowned-doctor-mads-gilbert/11363

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Gaza Mental Health Foundation based in Boston, MA sends all donations to the Gaza Community Mental Health Project.  http://www.gazamentalhealth.org/

American Friends of UNRWA based in Washington, DC http://www.friendsunrwa.org/ sponsors programs, such as a summer camps for the children of Gaza, and breast cancer screening in the refugee camps of Lebanon.  They have a lovely greeting card for sale—all proceeds go to UNRWA. 

UNRWA United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has many resources for more information, photos, historical information, and statistics.  You can also donate directly to UNRWA http://www.unrwa.org/

 THIS WEEK WE USE MUSIC TO REMEMBER GAZA UNDER SEIGE

My favorite YouTube video about Gaza is "We Will Not Go Down" by Michael Heart.  Some of the images are quite graphic and the video has been age restricted, but you can find it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlfhoU66s4Y&feature=colike