Gazans Are No Fools

[mudplanet]

"Could you comment on the mood in Gaza since the events on the Turkish Flotilla?"

I was asked this question in the aftermath of the botched Israeli raid on the Turkish Flotilla that killed eight Turkish participants and one Turkish-American. I sensed the Canadian interviewer was looking for a comment that would fit the narrative that depicted Gazans cheering and hugging each other in cafes. I politely informed the interviewer that I could not speak on behalf of more than 1.5 million people; but remarked that there was far more excitement on the streets after Real Madrid vs. Barcelona.

Gazans are no fools. They listened to President Obama's honeyed words in Cairo in 2009, they recall Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's explicit and ill-fated demands to end all settlement activity, and they watch on television as international newscasters report selectively on Gaza's plight from Washington -- or at best from the comfort of the other side of the barriers that enclose the coastal strip. The overwhelming message they conclude from these dispatches is that the people of Gaza are allowed little say in the coverage of Gaza, let alone in articulating their hopes for the future.

After so many years of indignity, broken promises, and perverse neglect, not to mention heavy bombardment, Gazans would be foolish to look to the ajnebees (foreigners) for answers or for hope. But such is the paradox of donor aid, US power in the region, and EU ambiguity, that one dares not bite the hand that could and does sustain so many.

'''

Hamas' popularity is at 29 percent, down from last year. Yet their recent anniversary drew crowds in excess of 100,000. So in one world Hamas is an ugly representation of modern day Islamic barbarism and a problem to be expunged. In a saner world, however, Hamas represents an organic, though troubling, response to the Palestinian struggle for a legitimate and dignified existence. U.S.- backed Fatah leaders lived in villas; Hamas ministers choose to live in the dwellings of the poor. Hamas speaks the language of resistance. Fatahs speak the defunct language of Oslo.

Beyond ideology, Hamas over the last two years has gained respect for its on-the-ground practical advances. It governs with limited funds and under an illegal siege. Within these constraints Hamas can claim small victories: the export of strawberries and more recently furniture, a new sewage treatment plant, unemployment down to 33.9 percent according to the World Bank, a thriving tunnel economy, and increasing agricultural sustainability. There are failures too: the infringement of liberties, particularly women's rights, and the superseding of laws, to close down and interrogate NGOs.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wasseem-el-sarraj/gazans-are-no-fools_b_804894.html

[aquart]

1. So they got the sewage treatment plant.

Now how did that happen?

[hayu_lol]

2. They had to give the people something...

after the destruction of the famed water park where women could smoke.

Now I suppose, maybe women can smoke around the sewage plant instead.

Sharia Law don't ya know.