‘If You Make A Thousand Dollars In Gaza, You’d Make A …
Posted By admin on May 14, 2015
Palestinians ride their donkey-carts in the middle of rubble and destroyed buildings, on May 11, 2015, in the Eastern Gaza City neighborhood of Shejaiya, which were destroyed during the 50-day war between Israel and Hamas militants in the summer of 2014.
GAZA CITY -- Youssef al-Jamal just cant take the irony: The country that bombed his factory now directly reaps reward from his misfortune, he says.
Nine months ago, Pioneer Foods, a household name here in Gaza, produced Palestinian-made tissues and other goods, providing much-needed jobs to people in the impoverished coastal enclave.
But after Israel bombed his factory during last summers bloody war, destroying the top four floors, he lost much of his expensive equipment and production dropped by half.
Now, were importing [tissues] from Israel, the factory account manager explained, with a sigh. He said the most recent war cost Pioneer Foods nearly $3 million. Israel took away jobs from Gazans," he continued. "Now, 50 people are unemployed.
Pioneer Foods factory's manager stands on a floor totally destroyed by Israeli strikes last summer.
Al-Jamal is not alone in his fury. Gazas already battered economy is reeling eight months after the devastating war that claimed the lives of over 2,200 Palestinians and 72 Israelis. Palestinian enterprises in post-war Gaza now face ruin and increasing reliance on Israel, struggling under a continued blockade and newly implemented taxes levied by Gazas cash-strapped government controlled by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
Pioneer Foods is just one of many businesses still trying to find their footing long after the bombings ended. While the factorys first floor works like a well-oiled machine -- an assembly line of a dozen employees working in unison to boil, can and package food bound for Gazas dinner tables -- there's a post-apocalyptic scene just one floor up, with nothing but mangled wire and charred debris from Israeli strikes. Its the same destruction outside, as far as the eye can see.
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'If You Make A Thousand Dollars In Gaza, You'd Make A ...
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