Morning Surroundings

I'm sitting here in the baking heat. Actually I just checked the weather and today it'll be a high of 34 degrees Celsius and 74% humidity levels. Not as bad as the 38 degrees yesterday.

Nevertheless, my coffee addiction is making me drink a hot coffee right now. The sound coming from the window is a massive buzz due to the hundreds of generators that are on right now because Gaza only has 3 hours of electricity per day. The other sound is the sound of construction next door because I guess the owner of the building managed to get enough construction materials from the tunnels from Egypt to make a few repairs. Oh now pleasant it would be to hear birds, or even be able to hear the waves of the sea that are 20 meters away from my building

Seems like there are lots of people out on the beach today.

Ramadan is supposed to start on August 10 or 11. I have to say, this has got to be one of the toughest times. In this type of heat, being unable to drink water, and having to fast. Yikes. I'm a little nervous because if that were me I would be in a ferocious mood. I have a feeling a lot of people will be. I will continue my regular eating and thirst quenching habits.

Beating the heat has been tough- so I'm consistently making Ice- 20 cubes at a time. When you do exercise, you feel like you've done so much exercise (you're thinking, sweet- I'm so in shape), when actually the dripping sweat has come from doing 10 lunges and withstanding the heat. Maybe I should just take up hot (Bikram) yoga.

I'm also laying low-- and returned back to gaza fully equipped with Monopoly, Scrabble and Catch Phrase (never fails).

Gaza in the Dark

Decided to share this fresh and updated information from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian Territories (OCHA).

I was walking home this week, and realized the amount of generators that were running, there' s a constant buzzing sound all over the city. Only some families own one-- but most turn on candles and sit in the dark.

Here's the answer:


Published: Dec 21, 2009

"The majority of the population in Gaza is experiencing power cuts that reach up to 32 hours per week due to the ongoing electricity deficit, which is around 25 percent compared to the winter season demand, as estimated by the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO). Restrictions on the entry of industrial fuel to operate the Gaza Power Plant (GPP) remain one of the main causes for the power cuts. Approximately 2.25 million litres of industrial fuel entered Gaza this week, constituting around 70 percent of the weekly amount of fuel needed to operate the GPP. If more is fuel allowed into Gaza, electricity production could increase from 60 to 75 megawatts.

In addition, over 40,000 people remain with no electricity, as networks that sustained severe damage during Israel’s “Cast Lead” offensive have not yet been repaired. This is due to the continued Israeli restrictions on the entry of the supplies needed to repair these networks; according to GEDCO, there are currently 240 items waiting to be cleared to enter Gaza."