Gaza's flourishing tunnel trade

Since Israel's total closure of Gaza began over 16 months ago, the Palestinian residents of the tiny coastal strip have relied on smuggling to meet their basic subsistence needs. A recent United Nations report stated that Gaza's local market is beholden to the tunnel trade or "death trade," which has so far claimed the lives of 40 people. Known locally as "grave diggers," a few thousand men earn their living by digging tunnels where they transport essential goods from Egypt like food, cooking gas, petrol, live stock and even electric devices.

The tunnels are all closely lined up along the Philadelphia route on the Gaza-Egypt border. Gaza's markets are now filled with either Egyptian-made or Egyptian-imported goods. This is particularly true in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, where the tunnel trade is concentrated.

"I feel comfortable finding something to sell rather than finding nothing, but I am not satisfied with myself as a merchant, depending on smuggled goods. The prices are relatively high, while the people's purchasing power is considerably low. Can you imagine, you must buy smuggled clothes for your children! It's America, Israel, and some Arabs who have forced an entire people to rely on smuggling," Abu Jamal, a 43-year-old merchant of electric devices explained.

In the early morning hours on Tuesday, Abu Yasser, a tunnel worker transporting cooking oil, shared Abu Jamal's sentiments, adding, "let Israel besiege us the way it wants, but we are here bringing what we want, also. At least we can now make bread, and we can cook, despite relatively high prices."

While placing gas canisters inside a van in front of his tunnel's tent, Abu Yasser explained that "Every day, we transport about 300 to 400 gas canisters from inside the Egyptian territories, with the help of some Egyptian brothers at the Egyptian side of this border. However, each canister costs 100 US dollars, it is still much better than lacking them totally."

While Abu Yaser's tunnel is active, others, like that of Abu Hassan, are still under construction. Digging a tunnel requires three to four months; Abu Hassan and other workers use an electric machine to pull out piles of sand from a hole that is 21-meters deep. A father of seven children, Abu Hassan explains that "what pushed me to work in these tunnels is the fact that over the past 16 months, I have been staying idle without job. How could I feed my family? I know it is dangerous work, but what can I do? I have no other option."

In the past several months, scores of tunnel workers have died, either while digging or because of Egyptian authorities collapsed some of these tunnels. However, the trade continues unabated, driven by Israel's ongoing blockade.

Abu Mohammad, a resident of Khan Younis, has worked as a tunnel contractor for the past eight years. Last summer his brother and nephew were killed while digging a tunnel. "After the death of my brother, Helmi, and nephew, I have felt so depressed and even sick. But what can I say, suppose I stop working, how could these people live, how? Many are staying idle without work and believe me, if you come in the afternoon, you can see how many are looking for work digging there!"

Recently, the Hamas-led government in Gaza has imposed new regulations and restrictions on the tunnel trade to avoid more deaths and to prevent the smuggling of drugs and prohibited substances to the Gaza Strip. However, the besieged Hamas government can not guarantee an end to the tunnel trade, unless the Israeli blockade comes to a halt.

"The repressive Israeli siege of Gaza has led the steadfast Palestinian people to think of creative means to sustain a living. We have been trying to organize movement at the border lines with Egypt, like giving instructions and monitoring goods coming in the Strip. I can say that this is an exceptional situation that can come to an end, if the Israeli blockade on the region is lifted completely," commented Ehab al-Ghosain, spokesperson of the Interior Ministry.

Israel began enforcing the siege after Hamas seized power in Gaza amidst factional fighting with the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party. The Jewish state claims that the Gaza tunnels are used to smuggle weapons from Egypt to Gaza-based Palestinian resistance factions. It also blames the Egyptian authorities for not shutting down these tunnels. In June, Israel and the Palestinian factions agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel was supposed to lift the Gaza blockade gradually, but it has not done so. The UN has called for reopening official crossings between Gaza and Israel, including the Rafah crossing terminal in southern Gaza, which has been closed by Egypt in June 2007.

In spite of widespread deprivation because of Israel's siege, Abu Yasser remained defiant, stating as he loaded the cooking oil canisters, "Let Israel besieges us the way it wants, and we bring in what we want. At the end of the day, we will not let anyone repress us."

Rami Almeghari is contributor to The Electronic Intifada, IMEMC.org and Free Speech Radio News. Rami is also a former senior English translator at and editor-in-chief of the international press center of the Gaza-based Palestinian Information Service. He can be contacted at rami_almeghari A T hotmail D O T com.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9912.shtml

report: "Uncertainty clouds Nahr al-Bared's future"

One year has passed since the first Palestinians were allowed to return to the outskirts of the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, destroyed by the Lebanese army during three months of fighting in the summer of 2007 with Fatah al-Islam, a small Islamist militant group. Meanwhile, up to 15,000 people have resettled in the camp. Many of them are still waiting to freely access their destroyed homes, as the Lebanese army still exclusively controls the "old camp" in the core of Nahr al-Bared, as well as parts of the "new camp" on the outskirts.

Abu Khalil, owner of a small bookstore at the former main street of the camp, says that he spent $3,000 on infrastructure and $10,000 on merchandise to reopen his shop after the war. However, he's struggling with low numbers of customers. He explains that before the war, not only Palestinians from the camp came to his bookstore, but also Palestinian refugees from nearby Beddawi camp and Lebanese from the northern region of Akkar, "I used to sell to 100,000 people, these days I only sell to the 13,000 who are present in Nahr al-Bared. Now, I'm essentially besieged. The Lebanese army should allow people to freely enter and leave the camp!"

Nahr al-Bared refugee camp was a thriving economic center in northern Lebanon, nestled between the city of Tripoli and the Syrian border along the coastal highway that joins the north to Beirut. Nidal, a political leader in the camp, explains that "It was well-known that in Nahr al-Bared you could buy goods on credit. Lebanese shops don't work this way. Also, things here were cheaper and people imported directly from foreign countries." Unlike other Palestinian camps in Lebanon, Nahr al-Bared was for many years accessible without restrictions. Only a few months before the Lebanese army launched its devastating attack against the camp, checkpoints were erected on the camp's perimeter. While these checkpoints inflicted damage on the local economy, they were apparently unable to stop massive amounts of weapons and ammunition from entering the camp and reaching the militants of Fatah al-Islam.

A widely held belief among Palestinians from Nahr al-Bared is that the camp's success was the real reason it was destroyed by the Lebanese army. However, Nidal warns that one should not overestimate economic factors, stating, "Maybe they were partly motivating the destruction, but surely there were other reasons - political ones. These are related to the Palestinian right of return to their homeland and to its opposite, to their resettlement in Lebanon." He recalls Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's statement at the time that he intended to make Nahr al-Bared a "model camp" for all Palestinians in Lebanon.

In spite of the promises by Lebanese leaders to rebuild the camp, many refugees from the old camp of Nahr al-Bared are skeptical that this will actually happen. Abu Khalil complains that they were told many empty promises: "They said they'd start in the beginning of September. Then on 15 September, then on 20 September. Now they say they'll start after the Eid [holiday at the end of Ramadan]. God knows how long it will take again after the Eid."

The initial reconstruction plan by the Lebanese government and the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, set the 15 August 2008 as the date for the beginning of the staged reconstruction process. However, until now nothing has been done and the reasons for this are unclear. Recently, camp residents were told that the bulldozers, trucks and other machines weren't ready. On 6 October they were told that the army needed time to train the construction workers regarding unexploded ammunition. On 10 October, some bulldozers finally appeared in the old camp and appeared to be widening and preparing the streets for more construction machines and trucks to enter.

Those families currently living in temporary housing, known as "the barracks," are losing their patience. A resident of the barracks on the camp's northern end complains about the miserable housing conditions and says, "They just brought us here in order to silence us. That's what the barracks and the aid packages are for. But we insist on returning to the old camp as soon as possible." Although, there is hardly any visible political activism inside Nahr al-Bared regarding return to the old camp, on 1 October, the first day of the Eid, residents successfully broke through the soldiers lines to visit the graves of their relatives. The army had intended to allow visitors to enter the severely damaged old graveyard at the old camp's southern entrance in small groups and only after security checks. However, residents started shouting at the soldiers and eventually broke through the checkpoint to reach the cemetery.

While Nidal is convinced that the camp will be rebuilt, instead he asks, "Who's going to administer the camp? The Popular Committee of Nahr al-Bared or the Lebanese authorities through the Internal Security Forces?" He fears the implementation of Siniora's plan will be detrimental to Palestinian self-governance and keep the camp under Lebanese control.

Residents have already started to avoid discussing political topics and issues regarding developments inside the camp for fear of an increased number of spies and collaborators working for the Lebanese secret services. The suspected recruitment of collaborators also seems to have a negative impact on the unity of the refugees in Nahr al-Bared who appear to be losing trust for other residents in the camp. Such developments indicate - in contrast to the promises made by the Lebanese government and UNRWA - a cloudy future for Nahr al-Bared.


http://a-films.blogspot.com/1998/10/report-uncertainty-clouds-nahr-al.html

Between Past And Present

one year has passed since the first palestinians were allowed to return to the outskirts of the destroyed nahr al-bared refugee camp, to the so-called "new camp". meanwhile, up to 15.000 people have resettled there, many of them waiting to access their destroyed homes in the "old camp", the core of what used to be nahr al-bared camp. the lebanese army still exclusively controls the old camp as well as parts of the new camp.

nahr al-bared camp used to be an economic center in the north of trablous. although the first shops and companies have reopened in nahr al-bared, they struggle with difficult economic conditions such as the siege of the camp.

this 16-minute film was produced in a small workshop in the camp. it deals with the current developments in nahr al-bared, focusing on economic aspects and on reconstruction.

Palestinian workers exploited at West Bank settlement factories

In August, the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, the international watchdog organization, asked three Israeli companies to respond to a report by an Israeli non-governmental organization that protested the treatment of Palestinian workers at West Bank settlement industrial parks. Kav LaOved, which is concerned with the rights of migrant and Palestinian workers employed in Israel and Israel's illegal settlements, reported on the rising number of claims by Palestinian workers employed in West Bank settlements following an October 2007 Israeli high court ruling that the country's labor laws applied in the settlements.

Amongst the companies whose labor practices were criticized in the Kav LaOved report was Royalnight, a textile manufacturer owned by Royalife. In 2003, Royalife established a factory in the Barkan Industrial Park located near the Ariel settlement in the northern West Bank. Royalnight's sheet sets, bed skirts, quilted blankets, and decorated pillows are exported to and marketed in the United States and Europe. According to Kav LaOved's report, Palestinian workers who come from all over the West Bank have to work under poor health and safety conditions at Royalnight's textile plant. To evade liability, work permits are issued under the name of a different employer, and workers employed through a Palestinian contractor are paid less.

In 1999, the United Nations Economic and Social Council criticized the practice of Israeli companies, including most of those operating in the Barkan park, moving their factories to the West Bank to escape the higher health and environment standards applicable in Israel. Kav LaOved states in its report that the Royalnight textile plant is no different: "Health and safety standards are poor, the working environment is noisy and the air is full of fabric dust. Most work is carried out standing, and the workers take five minutes breaks at their own expense."

The report adds: "[Workers] complain of exposure to dangerous cleaning substances and of working near cutting machines lacking safety devices. The company does not employ a Health and Safety official and the workers have received no instructions or cautions regarding possible dangers of operating machinery."

In an unsigned letter, Royalife replied to the Business and Human Rights Centre's query and the allegations raised by Kav LaOved: "All complaints are not correct. While Western Europe and the United States moved the industry to countries like Pakistan, India, China, with much lower labor costs, we tried to keep the textile industry in our region, enabling income to the people who live in the area."

However, Kav LaOved writes that Barkan Industrial Park is "away from the eye of the law. Israeli employers have found ways of evading the high court ruling by for instance issuing pay slips with false attendance reports. The normal practice is to register fewer working days than those actually worked, so it appears that the minimum wage is being paid." According to the report, "workers employed through a Palestinian contractor are paid between six and eight shekels an hour, whereas workers employed directly by the factory are paid between nine and 11 shekels an hour." At the time of writing, 3.5 shekels was the approximate equivalent to one US dollar.

Palestinian workers from the occupied territories were once widely employed inside Israel. But following the Oslo Accords, Israel has dramatically reduced the number of work permits issued to Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Since April 2006, Gazans are no longer able to receive work permits for employment inside Israel or its West Bank settlements at all. Those in the West Bank who do receive the permits find that they are only valid for three months at a time and Israel's severe movement restrictions make it difficult for even permit-holders to reach their places of employment.

Israel's closures have significantly contributed to rampant unemployment and underemployment in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, where 33 percent and 80 percent of the population, respectively, is dependent on international food assistance, according to an April 2008 report by the International Labour Organization. The World Bank has identified Israel's closure and movement restriction regime as a leading cause of the rapid deterioration of the Palestinian economy.

The dire economic situation means more Palestinians are forced to seek work in Israel's illegal settlements, where they are vulnerable to exploitation. Palestinian human rights organizations have reported that Palestinian workers are coerced into collaboration with Israeli security services to receive the permits necessary to work in the settlements and inside Israel.

So far, Royalnight has gone unpunished for its profitable exploitation of Palestinian workers in its settlement manufacturing plant. The goods it exports are likely marked as "Made in Israel" even though the Barkan Industrial Park where its sewing factory is located is built in violation of international law on stolen Palestinian land. However, there is a growing movement to hold companies like Royalife accountable. Earlier this year Barkan Wineries terminated its lease at the Barkan Industrial Park and moved its operations inside the internationally-recognized boundary between the West Bank and Israel, following a campaign against the company's settlement operations that tarnished its image (the company, however, still owns a vineyard in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights). As the international boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel's rights violations increasingly gains momentum, the exploitation of Palestinian labor by Israeli companies operating on occupied land will surely come under further scrutiny.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9871.shtml