Planting seeds of independence

Rami Almeghari writing from , The Electronic Intifada, Oct 15, 2007


Forty-five-year-old widow Sara Zo'rob holds chickens she received from the Save Gaza gardening project at the training hall in the Rural Women Development Society, Kerbet al-Adas village, southern Gaza Strip, October 2007. (Iyad Albaba)

"We have just initiated our small project with an intent to help these simple rural women sustain amidst their families' harsh economic conditions," says Yassmin Moor, a young Palestinian-American woman who manages a domestic gardening project in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah.

The project, which has been a part of the US-based Save Gaza program, is intended to empower poor women in the rural and remote areas of the Gaza Strip.

In the furthest eastern location of Rafah city, an area called Kherbet al-Adas, a local public service facility for rural development has been designated for the training of 20 Palestinian women representing 20 different families.

Chickens and small plants are some of the items provided by Save Gaza for the participants with the hope that the women can create their own domestic gardens and become independent of "Israeli-controlled products and goods."

"Now ... hopefully with these gardens the women can have some of their own vegetables, but also can trade with their neighbors, so we are also building community relations and mobilizing them to move towards sovereignty and sustainability and not have to rely on Israel for anything," says Yassmin.

Participants have found the project beneficial as most come from poor families or live alone as widows or divorcees.

Sara Zo'rob, a 45-year-old widow and mother of three children, told EI that this new enterprise, however new to them, will help her ensure some basic needs as she has always relied on aid from the local authorities or the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

"This [project] is really great and thanks go to the development society and Save Gaza, as they are offering us a unique chance that would help us be independent," says Sara.

The project ensures that local Palestinian women, who have uniquely suffered the hardships of the four-decades-long Israeli occupation in Gaza, are being active by taking part in the training.

Ahlam al-Shaer, chairwoman of the Rural Women Development Society, believes that the Save Gaza project is a space for the local women to learn new things, especially amidst shortage of training and assistance programs since Israel put in place an economic embargo on the coastal region after the Hamas government was elected in January 2006.

Currently, 81 percent of Gazans are living below the poverty line and more than half of the population rely on foreign aid for such basic needs as flour, rice, and sugar.

Most in Gaza come from farming backgrounds and the desire to care for the land is something they still carry with them from when their families tended land in historic Palestine. After the dispossessed of historic Palestine with the creation of the state of Israel, the Gaza labor force became subservient to the Israeli economy. Save Gaza aims to bring Palestinians back to their roots and allow these women to rise above Israel's economic occupation.

Rami Almeghari is currently contributor to several media outlets including the Palestine Chronicle, aljazeerah.info, IMEMC, The Electronic Intifada 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@hotmail.com

Source: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9043.shtml

THE IRON WALL

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Trapped in Gaza!

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Please sign the petition here
Please sign the petition here

10th October deadline!!!!

A Palestinian student urgently trying to get back to Bradford University to start his third year of study, has found him self unable to do so after Israel identified Gaza as "hostile territory" this week, effectively closing it off to the outside world and in the process creating the world?s largest open air prison. Khaled Mudallal, 22, a British-educated business and management student who risks losing his third year if he does not return to Bradford next week, has become its latest inmate. The Israeli human rights organisation Gisha, is presenting a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court arguing that new restrictions which have so far prevented several hundred Palestinian students from Gaza to return to courses abroad is a violation of international law. Khaled must be allowed to return to the UK immediately to continue his studies, and all other Palestinian students studying abroad should be allowed to return to their respective universities. Any delay in Khaled's and the other Palestinian students return is damaging to their future prospects and is thus unacceptable.

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INTERPAL
Interpal, the Palestinian Relief and Development Fund, was founded to bring much needed help to Palestinians in need in the fields of:
****Humanitarian
****Health & Medical
****Education
****Community Development

website: http://www.interpal.org/



Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is a UK charity providing support to the health and medical needs of Palestinians living under occupation in Gaza and the West Bank, to refugees in Lebanon and to other vulnerable communities in the region.


website: http://www.map-uk.org

Zaytoun
Zaytoun is an ethical business established to support marginalized farming communities in Palestine. Palestine is the home of the olive tree, supporting over half the population & dominating the agricultural landscape. Zaytoun finds a market place for Palestinian produce in the UK.

As a non-profit company our primary objectives lie with the welfare of the producing communities.

website: http://www.zaytoun.org

Destiny's Child