Gazans at risk as winter looms

[Jefferson23]

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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Every day, Mohammed Maqadima, 14, must carry water in gallon bottles from a water tank 500 meters (546 yards) from his home in the Sha'af neighborhood east of Gaza City. This is so his mother can do the housework. He also spends hours collecting firewood for heating, with the weather getting colder as winter approaches.

Mohammed told Al-Monitor, “I must cross this distance three times a day to carry water to the house. Since the water well in the area was destroyed, we do not receive water service at all.” He said once the tank is empty, residents have to wait for the arrival of water trucks to fill it again.

Large parts of the Gaza Strip, particularly those intensively bombed by the Israeli occupation during the July 27-Aug. 26 conflict, are experiencing complex crises. The first is that the water system is destroyed, which requires thousands of people to carry water long distances. The second is that power lines and poles were also destroyed. This has forced people to look for alternatives for heating and lighting, and for ways to protect themselves from the cold and rain inside damaged houses as winter approaches.

The director general of the Department of Sanitation in Gaza municipality, Saad Eddine Alatbash, said his municipality has not finished repairing the infrastructure, particularly the water and sanitation systems. He noted that large areas are not yet receiving water services, including the neighborhoods of Shajaiya, Sha'af and Toufah, as well as large parts of the Sheikh Radwan district.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/10/gaza-infrastructure-damage-leaves-many-without-water-power.html#ixzz3HT73vvDJ

[azurnoir]

1. Hopefully the materials necessary for the repairs will be allowed to enter Gaza

we'll see as time goes on

[King_David]

2. Summer or Winter doesn't make that much difference

It's not cold nor wet in winter.

https://weatherspark.com/averages/32337/Tel-Aviv-Israel

[Jefferson23]

3. Your empathy and realism is noted...for what it's worth. n/t

[oberliner]

4. The average temperature in Gaza during the winter is 58 degrees with little to no precipitation

Those are just indisputable facts.

Climate-wise you actually don't get much better than Gaza anywhere in the world.

[Jefferson23]

5. Your empathy is noted too, thanks. n/t

[oberliner]

6. I have no empathy for 58 degrees in the winter

I would love to have those temperatures where I live.

There are plenty of reasons to feel empathetic towards Palestinians living in Gaza - the weather is not one of them.

[Jefferson23]

7. Good for you, oberliner. When you and your family have no access to clean running water, cold

nor hot, I hope the temperature outside is of great comfort for you.

[oberliner]

8. It won't be a comfort to me because the temperature outside where I live in the winter is often 0

I would be quite pleased if it was 58.

The problem of no access to clean running water is a problem for Palestinians in Gaza regardless of season.

[Jefferson23]

9. The problem is that you could not pass by this thread without minimizing it.

The weather in Gaza is not a concern, you wish you had it so good.


Gaza weather, btw, is not always as ideal as you seem to believe.

Gaza Struggles to Recover After Brutal Winter Storm

In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian farmers lament the loss of crops due to a brutal winter storm that flooded fields. Electricity was also affected by the torrential rains in the already energy-starved enclave ruled by Hamas.

http://www.kare11.com/video/2940806637001/1/Gaza-Struggles-to-Recover-After-Brutal-Winter-Storm

[oberliner]

10. The problem is the implication of the article headline is deceptive

As I have written here many times - the situation for the Palestinians in Gaza is bad enough without having to be deceptive or manipulative about presenting the basic facts.

[Jefferson23]

11. Nothing deceptive by the headline, disingenuous responses..yes. n/t

[oberliner]

12. Winter looming does not pose an especially grave risk to Gazans

The level of struggle and challenge and difficulty for Palestinians living in Gaza is pretty much the same in winter as it is in fall.

Therein lies the deception. Do you not see that?

[Jefferson23]

13. You're the weather man now too, I see. I suggest the next time you see a thread

such as this one, you pass it by.

[oberliner]

14. The complaint cited in the article is that someone might catch a cold

She told Al-Monitor, “In previous years, we used an electric stove for heating. But today, there is no electricity at all, which is why we are looking for alternatives to cope with the cold, and if we fail we will inevitably catch a cold throughout winter.”

I get a cold every winter too. That is something people can cope with.

Again, not having electricity is a year long problem.

However, there are places all over the world where this is the case and the winter looming really does present a grave situation for those folks because the temperatures drop into the single digits.

This is not the case in Gaza.

Can you not at least acknowledge this reality?

[Jefferson23]

15. I'll leave you to keep digging that hole you've got going there. n/t