"The Gaza Economy"

[Tom Joad]

By Sara Roy

Overview: In one of many reports and accounts of economic life in the Gaza Strip that I have recently read, I was struck by a description of an old man standing on the beach in Gaza throwing his oranges into the sea. The description leapt out at me because it was this very same scene I myself witnessed some 21 years ago during my very first visit to the territory. It was the summer of 1985 and I was taken on a tour of Gaza by a friend named Alya. As we drove along Gaza's coastal road I saw an elderly Palestinian man standing at the shoreline with some boxes of oranges next to him. I was puzzled by this and asked Alya to stop the car. One by one, the elderly Palestinian took an orange and threw it into the water. His was not an action of playfulness but of pain and regret. His movements were slow and labored as if the weight of each orange was more than he could bear. I asked my friend why he was doing this and she explained that he was prevented from exporting his oranges to Israel and rather than watch them rot in his orchards, the old man chose to cast them into the sea. I have never forgotten this scene and the impact it had on me.

http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/images/informationbrief.php?ID=169
Sara Roy knows something about economics, and knows something about Gaza. I find that helpful in a discussion of the economics of Gaza.

[Douglas Carpenter]

1. a great article

Dr. Sara Roy is probably the most prolific and eruditious western writer and researcher on the Gaza Strip especially regarding the political economy of the Gaza and also the rise of political Islam.

"Dr. Sara Roy is a Professor at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. Dr. Roy has worked in the Gaza Strip and West Bank since 1985 conducting research primarily on the economic, social, and political development of the Gaza Strip and on U.S. foreign aid to the region. Dr. Roy has written extensively on the Palestinian economy, particularly in Gaza, and has documented its development over the last three decades"

Dr. Roy has a new book coming out soon: Failing Peace: Gaza and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0745322344/002-4750258-7334423?ie=UTF8