Reference :
V-F-CR-F-02042-N(1)
Date :
04/09/2017
Title :
Gaza : ten years on
Duration :
00:10:18
Editor :
SYNENKO, Alyona
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Production company :
ICRC
ICRC producer :
SYNENKO, Alyona
Production reference :
AV690N1
Description :
In recent months, Gaza has witnessed an accelerated and worrying degradation of the humanitarian situation. Restrictions imposed on the movement of people and goods, aggravated by internal Palestinian differences, has fenced off Gaza from the rest of the world hand is suffocating its economy. Poverty levels have reached their worst according to official statistics. Despite the availability of fruits and vegetables in the market, the purchasing power is low.
For over a decade, the two million people in Gaza have experienced a gradual degradation of all aspects of people’s lives and compromise their access to health care, water and power. The control of Gaza’s three main entry and exit points is at the core of the problem. It exacerbates Gaza’s slow but perpetual economic decline and its dependency on humanitarian aid. Seven out of ten Gazans live off humanitarian aid. While Gaza is among the places with the highest education rates in the world, it also has one of the highest unemployment rates worldwide notably among young graduates standing at over 60% (according to UN statistics, August 2017).
And although the situation in Gaza looks normal on the surface as if life is going on, the chronic electricity problems casts its shadow on the daily life of the people in Gaza.
Chronic power shortages have plagued the Gaza Strip for years and fostered a dependency on power provisions from Egypt and Israel, both of which are insufficient and intermittent.
Gaza’s very own power plant (GPP) which was hit during the 2014 conflict and later repaired, remains unable to meet the needs of the two million people living in the Gaza Strip. To produce power, the plant is heavily reliant on fuel, which must be imported into Gaza. Insufficient fuel imports and scarcity of funds have forced Gaza’s Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO) to ration its power provision. For the past ten years, power provision schemes have been in place across the Gaza Strip with electricity being available for eight hours a day at best. Fuel, which is used to run generators, outside of the hours power is provided within, can be used by those who can afford it- a minority of Gaza’s population and service providers.
The energy crisis is impacting essential services including the provision of health care services. It is interrupting surgical operations and reducing the operating hours of water and waste water treatment plants or stopping them all together. As a result, 100,000 cubic metres of untreated sewage is pumped into the sea on a daily basis, traveling far beyond Gaza’s borders.
The energy crisis has dealt another blow to the quality of life of people in Gaza. Their daily lives are heavily impacted by the electricity shortages in most neighborhoods in Gaza and people have taken to the planning of their daily chores around the energy crisis.
Despite all the challenges, Palestinian families in Gaza tried to cope with the situation, namely shortage in electricity, to be able to cover their needs. Some families bought UPS chargers, but they only produce enough to operate for lights, TV, and internet router, any heavier equipment, such as refrigerators and laundry machines, cannot be run on UPSs. In some neighborhoods, big electricity generators were installed by individuals for household use. To receive electricity line from the generator, a family has to buy 1KWATT for 3.5 shekels (1 USD) while they used to buy the 1KWATT from the electricity company for 0.5 shekels only (0.14 USD). It means another financial burden for an already stretched families with an average income of 1’500 shekels (420 USD) a month.
Living with chronic power shortages has become the new normal for people in Gaza. The battered infrastructure and the poor economy is already exerting a heavy toll on people here as is. The energy crisis is yet another blow.
Even if people in Gaza manage to find temporary solutions, a durable solution must be found which can only come from the key political actors.
English title :
Gaza : ten years on
Colour/B&W :
colour
SD/HD :
HD
Resolution :
1920 x 1080
Aspect ratio :
16/9
Original material/format :
H264
Best material/format available :
ProRes 422
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