Gaza

In the summer I visited Gaza, albeit only for a day. I had gone with lots of preconceptions, thinking that I would be entering a war-zone with destroyed buildings all around. There may very well be evidence of destruction, but not where we went in Gaza City. In fact, it just seemed like a normal, rather dilapidated town. What did strike me was that there were people everywhere, and Gaza is the most densely populated place on earth. Sadly it probably has the highest unemployment rate of anywhere on earth as well, as it has little industry. One person commented that most people are at university, because there is nothing else to do!

We had gone to visit several projects supported by Church of Scotland, including ante-natal clinics run by the Near East Council of Churches and a hospital run by the Anglican Church. The Christian population of Gaza is very small, so these institutions are very much run for the needs of those who are unconnected with the church.


Photo from http://www.atfaluna.net/


We finished our day, by visiting the Atfaluna School for Deaf Children, which is housed in a beautiful building paid for by German partners, and we were amazed by the high standard of all the furnishings and education materials. Because of the dire employment prospects in Gaza, especially for those who have a disability, Atfaluna employ former pupils to make furniture, carpets and crafts, which are then sold (including, I believe, in the Hadeel shop in Edinburgh).

All in all, it was an interesting visit, not least to be made aware of the sufferings of those living in Gaza with the regular disruption of electricity and food supplies, all of which are delivered through Israel.

Eating Out

Peter, the general manager at the Hotel had decided to take the hotel managers (who head the different departments of the hotel) on a team building exercise. They went rock climbing near the Dead Sea, learning to depend on each other.

It seemed to go well, and in the evening I joined them at a restaurant in Jaffa, which is called ‘Black Out’ –appropriate, as the restaurant is completely dark, and the waiters are all blind. The waiters have obviously no problem with the darkness, but we, the diners, certainly did! Going in, we had to cling on to each others’ shoulder and follow our waiter conga-style. Once seated we had to feel around for our cutlery and take the risk of pouring water into our glass, without knocking it over or filling it too full.

We had ordered our food beforehand, but it was a different experience to eat it without seeing it. How much of our dining experience is usually linked to the sight of the food before us?! It was delicious however, and I made use of the dark to just use my hands to eat, just as I often did in Africa.

All in all, it was a good exercise in role-reversal and certainly put us in the shoes of those who are blind. Not all my group enjoyed the experience, but I am sure we all learned something from it.