IHM: Infrastructure and Family

Israeli/Palestinian Conflict



Infrastructure and Family Life

By Alice Baker, IHM

House in Jenin, West Bank
Jenin Refugee Camp, West Bank, 2002

The term infrastructure relates to the basic installations and facilities of a region, such as roads, power plants, transportation and communication systems. In Israel today, due to the military occupation in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, the infrastructure is in jeopardy.

There are modern highways connecting the main cities as well as some ancient and modern streets in the cities. But in the predominantly rural settings, there are now settler-only roads, protected by Israelis police or dirt-track roads over hills.

I experienced all of these forms; in some cases it took only a few minutes to reach my destination, others took hours. This is one effect of poor infrastructure. Time and a 1,000 NIS fine if caught traveling on a settler road, which would be only a 10 minute drive versus 60 minutes on a dirt road, prohibits a Palestinian family from tending to their land.

The irony of all this, is that Israel/Palestine is located geographically at the crossroads of the Middle East and has for centuries offered global hospitality to all peoples both in East and West.

A third effect of the poor infrastructure is the lack of power from power plants, especially in Gaza. In his article, "Cut Off, Gazan Economy Nears Collapse" in the Sept. 14, 2006, issue of the New York Times, Steven Erlanger writes:

"An Israeli air strike on Gaza's only electrical power plant means that most Gazans now get only 7 to 12 hours a day of electricity, at unpredictable hours, with running water largely dependent on electric pumps."

The grandfather of the family interviewed in this article, Zidan Abu Reziq, before the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000 had helped build a factory inside the former Israeli settlement of Neve Dekalim. Now, the factory has been torn down and he is lucky to get three days a month of casual construction work.

Another effect from the weak infrastructure is the stress on family life. Steven Erlanger again reports that in Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip, many of the large, destitute refugee families need to grow their own food. Zidan, for example, took the land and planted it with vegetables, an investment of about $50, using most of the money that the United Nations Relief and Work Agency gave them to buy school uniforms for the children. The family is carefully investing the rest of their relief money. More than $20 went straight to the local grocer as a down payment on the credit extended to the family, which still owes more than $200. About $11 went to buy the ingredients for the couscous dish that his family served to 15 people who helped them with their land.

Erlanger reports that:

"It is difficult to exaggerate the economic collapse of Gaza, with the Palestinian Authority cut off from funds by Israel, the United States and the European Union after Hamas won the legislative elections on Jan. 25, 2006. Since then, the authority has paid most of its 73,000 employees here, nearly 40% of Gaza's work force, only one and a half months' salary, resulting in a severe economic depression and growing signs of malnutrition, especially among the poorest children."

In conclusion, I wish to share one observation I had while being among the people in the refugee camp of Al Fara' during the summer of 2002 and in East Jerusalem in the summer of 2004.

Though under occupation, families invited us into their simple homes or shops for tea. No matter how little they may have had, they always were willing to share. Visiting the Jenin refugee camp three months after the terrible incursion of April '02, I visited the only home left at the top of a hill. On that very hot summer day, we listened to a grandmother tell her story while sitting on the floor holding her small infant grandchild. The child had been born during the invasion, when the soldiers had kept all 35 women and children hostage in one room for a week. My eyes filled with tears. In the meantime, the grandmother made sure that we had a cold drink of water from a few bottles that they had in their home. I left this place, and many other homes and people like this, realizing how much I take for granted, especially the privilege to have freedom of movement and easy access to all my basic needs.

A cup of Palestinian Hospitality

Tea at the home of Palestinian friends
Al Fara Refugee Camp, West Bank, 2002

Click here for a photo slide-show on life in Gaza.

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