I am finally back in the States and it is good to be back. I got out after spending four months and change trapped in Gaza. The world community has punished (rewarded is a better term) Hamas government with an embargo on this narrow Strip. This siege is really brutal on the people of Gaza and what makes the siege most savage is the unique nature of Gaza Strip. Israel sealed Gaza Strip and makes sure no one leaves as they sealed the Northern and Eastern boarders of the Strip. The Egyptians are watching the Southern tip of the borders and keeping the Rafah crossing shut. The Sea is to the West of Gaza and the Israelis monitor that and fire upon any vessels for a host of reasons. With the absence of a seaport and an airport, the Gazans who have travel plans, need to be patient.

Hamas government holds a list of few thousand people wanting to travel, about once every forty days Rafah crossing opens and a few hundred travelers are allowed out. I singed up for travel in July when the registration opened. My name will take till November to give me a bus number that will take me to Rafah. I came to learn of few individuals who signed up in the days after my registration and somehow their names showed up and my name did not. I got upset as I have been long gone form my job in DC and I need to get back. The Gaza Minister of Interior lives nearby and my uncle went to talk to him about my case: he sympathized and declined to help claiming that process is all managed by “Saints” who do no wrong. I thought if true and the process is fair my name will show up in the next opening of Rafah. August came and so did September my turn did not come yet. A handful of travelers who signed up after
I registered has gotten their name ahead of me. I really wanted to believe the Minister, but on the day I leave Gaza, I shared a ride with the brother of his office manager who completely contradicts the Minister’s tales of honesty and fairness.

Now, with my name not showing up on the list, I am all mad. I take that rage and head to the residence of a spokesperson of Hamas wake him up and speak to him via the house intercom, explain my concern. He also sympathizes and gives me the number of his office manager who will help me. Obviously, that gets to a dead end, but I manage to challenge the spokesperson be telling him that their process has no transparency. As they officers in charge of travel coordination claim they have priorities that makes understanding who gets to travel and does not complicated and no one outside the “old boys club” knows what those are. My uncle is a Legal Counsel in the Palestinian Legislative Council and knows his way around those guys. When he tried to get those guys in charge to put me on the bus, they declined and were firm that they are being fair. On Friday of September the day they were supposed to load up buses, the senior officer showed up on that day and maintained that the process is fair. He told my uncle that “all Gaza Strip is Humanitarian case” and thus he cannot help me.

An hour later, I see something fishy and I let everybody know. The Palestinian officer who is the deputy of the office in charge of letting people board the buses was outside, talking to few men and all of a sudden a young boy standing with him smiles and the other men ask him to follow the officer who has the list on his hand. I also follow them and the officer sneaks in the young man with the crowd waiting to get on the bus and goes to his office, shuts the door and adds another name on the list. I happened to see the list before he added the young man’s name and after. I was not the only to see this favoritism; few others did also see it. A young man waiting to travel with his wife lost his mind and yelled at the officer telling him that Fateh was a lot better than them.

I go and tell my count of the story and all the names involved to my uncle who knew of the story and communicated it to the senior officer. The senior officer asked for the name of the person that has been improperly added, my uncle told him that he will give him the name once the young boy travels out of Gaza. The young boy did travel out of Gaza on that night and I who signed prior to him get left behind. My uncle and the senior officer present at the scene go on and request a hearing and discipline all those involved. This is a big deal for the Hamas government because they pride themselves on their honesty and doing away with favoritism and bribery. In the world of my uncle who has a back in this government as he told the corrupt officer, “I will make you fly off your post and make the shoe better than you!” This came as a surprise to me because my uncle who has a PhD in international law has always defended Hamas officers and argued that they are honest people…little did he know, some old habits do die hard.

To make matters worse the same officer who cheated and let in additional travelers fired his gun in the air on the crowd of travelers who broke in chaos. Not just that he even followed a young man with a stick wanting to beat him up. All this happened under the eyes of the senior officer who contained the situation and swore to my uncle and to my ears that he will teach all those jerks working in the ministry a lesson. The tug for an officer was put on investigations for that particular incident and what is coming will be even greater. How is it that an entire government cannot get people to board a bus in orderly fashion; they had to bring the paramilitary to help with crowd management.
Few days later upon visiting the Ministry’s office to confirm my registration for travel, there were few new officers and they had installed a new system where people get on a list and remain in a waiting area until called upon by the police officers only then they can speak to the officers at the window. We all saw a police officer tried to sneak in a relative of his to cut in line, the senior officer pulled the man out of the line, sent him back and yelled at the officer who tried to play favorites. I know testify that the travel out of Gaza to Palestinians is much more orderly and better managed, not perfect, I did lose four months in Gaza, but at least I know better managed or not traveling in or out of Gaza is like pulling teeth…and judging from the way things went by the time the next time I plan a trip to Gaza, I might not have any left.

Some of those images are taken from Rafah Today

Related posts:

1. My Near Escape from the World’s Largest Mousetrap
2. At the Ballot Box, Trouble is Brewing for Hamas
3. Post-Gaza Palestinians Worse Off, but Not Blaming Hamas
4. Eyewitness in Gaza: 4
5. The Monstorous Hamas Rockets