Normality, in inverted commas.

It's strange the things that can become normal. The Gaza strip is roughly the size of Dublin and everyday, almost without exception, people die.
"1 Palestinian killed in a shell attack on Northern Gaza" or "2 militants killed in a shell attack in Northern Gaza" etc etc.
Some of these are innocent civilians, some of them are not, they are people nonetheless.
The other day I talked to a friend from home and she asked was everything alright there, sounding concerned.

"Why", I asked, "did you read something?"
"I heard in the news that there had been some people killed in the shelling in the North of Gaza"
"Oh", I said, relieved. I had thought for a minute it was something serious.
I thought it was something that affected me. I had spent half an hour reading the news that morning and hadn't bothered with that article.

Funny as it sounds I live in quite a safe place, in Gazan terms. The centre of Gaza city, 25 mins away from the shelling in the north, 40 mins away from the shelling in the South. Even here you can become detached.

I have a tendency to see things in the "big picture" or "long-term" or whatever, the downside being that I can often be unaffected by the smaller incidents around me. Like the fact that the doorman of my building Mohammed (who can't afford to live in this area) often sleeps in the same house as 70 of his relatives and neighbours when the shelling "gets bad". His house and those of his extended family become unsafe when the shelling intensifies. Or my local shopkeeper Saber, who I play cards with, who literally has no money despite the fact that practically everyone in the surrounding area owes him money and can't afford to pay him back, he continues to allow them to shop on credit.

Last week I sat with the family of Muhammad Abu Schmas, he is the guy in the photo outside the destroyed house a couple of posts ago. He and some of his extended family are living in the apartment of an distant relative. His two brothers who were seriously injured have recovered really well. The younger brother had just been released from ICU, he sat with us, his damaged hands wrapped up like mittens and the crown of his head literally sown together. His older brothers, in their 30's, doted on him, scratching his back when he couldn't and one had him rest his head on his lap. They thought he was gone forever.

Shells go off in the background, sometimes 2 or 3 a minute. Loud enough to force the conversation to stop.
Loud enough to make me shudder everytime.

Friday is a day for the beach

Everything in Gaza closes on Fridays,
it's the one day weekend.
the people here really know how to chill out.

I decided to do a cultural experiment,
so I went to the beach for a couple of hours,
played some cards, smoked some pipe, paddled a little......all in the name of science you understand.
On Fridays when the weather is nice, which it tends to be, everyone heads to beach.
The beach is kind of an excepetion in Gaza, where you can't hear the shelling,
and everyone chills out and seems to be genuinely happy,
it's totally detached from ordinary life here.

Also people clean their donkeys.

Jerusalem last weekend was really sweet,
went to Bethlehem and Ramallah also.
Met up with some friends(Andy P.), made lots of new friends, went to church, drank some cans in a park with some Irish hipppies..... altogether a well rounded weekend.

BBQ

I realise the last post was real heavy,
and I know it's important to talk about this stuff.
but also a large part of what people do here is just hang out.

I play football on Monday nights and some of the boys had me around for a BBQ.
This was a cracking night,
I learnt how to make kebabs, smoked some shesha (pipe) and played some cards.
Stayed there till nearly 3 on the morning just hanging out.

The situation in Beit Layha got alot press in the few days following our visit,
pity it had to the death of a 14yr old girl to get on the news though.

Turns out that the rockets were being fired into Israel from the immediate area around those houses that were destroyed,
I guess this makes the shelling by the Isareli army more understandable,
but the people whose houses were destroyed had nothing to do with the rockets.

In other news...
I'm going to Jerusalem for the weekend,
should be cool seen as it's Easter and all.

house and home

Mohammed Abu Shmas is an accountant. This is odd because when I hear of people's houses being destroyed I always imagine they are really poor.

The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has been firing 300 shells a day into Northern Gaza in response to the rocket attacks on Israel. Mohammed's house was not a target or anything, he just lived in the wrong place.
When I asked him if I could take a picture of him and his house, he agreed and took me by the hand as we walked over. He told me about his week. He hasn't slept in the three days since the shell hit his house. He looked and talked and held himself like a broken man. He asked if I knew what it was like to know that your brother is dying and not to be able to do anythng about it. I said I couldn't and to be honest I don't want to.
He was visiting the house to see if there was anything of value he could pull from the rubble.
He was too terrified to stay there any length of time, he has no home for his wife and 5 kids. The kids can't attend school.
He asks where I'm from, I say Ireland. "So", he says, "You must know what it is like to live like this". "No", I said, "I have no idea what it is like to live like this".

This whole town, Beit Lahya, is dotted with small crators from tank shells. Talib got hit by shrapnel from a tank shell.













One of the men who showed us his shrapnel-ridden house said that no journalists had come to report on the incidents. These people were raging with the desire to be heard.






















In the car on the way home they said that somone had been injured in shelling in Beit Layha. There was a lady crying on the radio. I couldn't understand what she was saying.
I don't mean to say anyone is right or anyone else is wrong, I guess that as soon as you take sides you become part of the problem. But injustice is still injustice.

the city sleeps not so quietly

was reading the news just now about some airstrikes by the Israeli army in Gaza city,
as i read the desription I realised they were talking about the building at the end of my road,
i looked out the window,
ahhh.....that would explain the noises being that little bit louder than usual.

things have been kinda heating up here,
lots of internal gunfights
and external ginfights,
navy shelling, tank shelling, airstrikes etc.

was invited out for a meal with a bunch of ex-pats the other night,
mostly journalists and UN people,
was really cool,
even had some Irish stew and some wine.

tv is broken which sucks

emmm...
since I started writing this the power cut and I went out
when I came back I found out that things had kinda escalted here
3 people were killed in shelling today,
Hamas removed all the israeli cameras at the border and the israeli's have threatened to shoot the place up tonight if they're not replaced,
also found out an american friend of mine got deported
and an american family i spent some time here just got a personal threat and are leaving Gaza tonight.

by all accounts it'll be a messy few days.....