Looking for Trouble

This afternoon when I rode back up the West Coast of the Gaza Strip, small fishing boats in the foreground, I caught sight of an Israeli war ship patrolling at the three-mile offshore border they established. Another very large speedboat traversed the horizon at the same point.

It is hard to imagine life with this constant reminder of the open-air prison in which Gazans live. On the other side of this narrow strip of land, along the border of Israeli, long-settled Palestinian farmers face anxiety from the ever-present Israeli Defense Forces, simply for cultivating their fields. Random shots into the fields are common.

For all the intricate surgeries we performed on children and the joy this brought to their parents, I am sad that for some I saw, the appropriate medical therapy is not available in Gaza. They must wait, hope and pray for permission to cross into either Egypt or Israel where medical supplies and resources are consistently available.

It is not for lack of interest or enthusiasm on the part of the doctors and other health care providers that health care is limited. The sanctions on the Gaza Strip since Hamas was democratically elected in 2006, exact an onerous toll on all the people. Since Operation Cast Lead in late 2008 and early 2009, building supplies are nigh impossible to obtain.

John Ging told us this evening that there is a need for 100 new schools in Gaza. Classrooms are critically over-crowded – so much so that school children rotate classes – not just half/day classes, but sometimes they have two classes indoors and one class in the dirt yard outside their school, so that other children may use the classrooms.

As an example of the spirit of the people here – I was touched this evening when the owner of the number one gelato shop in Gaza, Kasam’s, treated us when he heard about our volunteer work in Gaza.

He said, “I love the American people.” The gelato was excellent, but he said it was better in the past when he could get the ingredients from Italy. He envisions the day when he is able to make gelato the way he knows it can be made.

I was reminded tonight, that ultimately it’s not about politics, it’s about the people – people who share the same dreams and aspirations, hopes and fears that we do. I am buoyed by the remarkable vision and drive of the young people we meet, whether they are physicians, technicians, interpreters or teachers. Today, Mohammed, who has been interpreting for me during the last ten days, acknowledged that his wife noted he seemed happier than she’d seen him in months since he lost his job. For him, working with us reminded him of the world outside the Gaza strip and the possibilities of justice, tolerance and empathy.