Reference :
V-P-IL-E-00446
Date :
04/2006
Caption :
West Bank, Beit Ummar market. Preparing the reopening of shops where local producers will be able to sell fruits and vegetables. Construction of a stone wall around the market.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
The choice of this material rather than plain concrete has allowed the ICRC to employ local workers.
With help from the ICRC, the Palestinian village of Beit Ummar near the West Bank town of Hebron will soon have a newly rehabilitated vegetable market.
When the market first opened in 1999, farmers and merchants expected the new source of income to improve the life of the whole community. But hopes soon faded. In 2000, the market was closed by military order. The situation worsened when construction began of a stretch of the West Bank Barrier, only a few kilometers away. About 50% of the farmlands of Beit Ummar were rendered inaccessible even though 60% of the population relied on agriculture for their income.
The ICRC's "cash for work" project to rehabilitate the market brought renewed hope because it allowed residents to make a living once again. In late 2005, ICRC obtained a permit from Israeli authorities so that the project could start. The initiative employs 100 workers selected from families defined as the most vulnerable, a category based on family size, economic situation and length of unemployment.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
4368x2912
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
