Articles by: Sarah Algherbawi

A flooded quarter in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp, February 2017. Gaza’s beleaguered sewage system is overwhelmed during heavy rains, causing flooding and forcing families to evacuate from their homes. Anne Paq ActiveStills

Gaza: Life In A Septic Tank

Hiba al-Ashi has to keep the windows of her apartment closed. It is the only way to avoid the foul odors from the polluted sea. “Life has become unbearable,” said the 36-year-old mother, whose Gaza City home overlooks the Mediterranean. Every day, 100,000 cubic meters of raw sewage are discharged into the sea around Gaza. The Gaza Strip’s environmental problems have worsened in recent[Read More…]

by 22/06/2017 1 comment Palestine
A decade of siege and three successive Israeli offenses have destroyed Gaza’s economy, leaving many youth with little hope for a better life. Anne Paq ActiveStills

Trapped And Traumatized In Gaza

Samih is demoralized. Two years ago, he graduated with an engineering degree from the Islamic University of Gaza. Despite applying for many jobs, the only work he has found has been as a casual laborer. The pay has only been enough to provide him with some pocket money and let him buy cigarettes. “For a decade now, the Gaza Strip has[Read More…]

by 15/06/2017 1 comment Palestine
A classroom at the Martyrs School in Khuzaa, which was damaged by Israeli shelling in the summer of 2014, as well as in previous assaults on Gaza, photographed in August 2015. Ashraf Amra APA images

Learning In The Line Of Fire

Wala, 16, always finds a seat away from the windows. The girl is a student at the Hayel Abdul Hamid secondary school in Beit Hanoun, a United Nations facility in the northern Gaza Strip. She has developed a phobia of sitting next to windows, afraid, she told The Electronic Intifada, of stray bullets. Her fear is well-founded. Beit Hanoun lies[Read More…]

by 09/02/2017 1 comment Palestine
Cancer patients take part in a rally to raise awareness about Breast Cancer in Gaza City on 26 October. Mohammed Asad APA images

Israel Blocks Gaza Women From Breast Cancer Treatment

Khuloud Abu Qamar spoke quietly but her words still shocked. “Israel is killing me slowly,” she said. “And it is killing my children, too.” After undergoing surgery for breast cancer last year, Abu Qamar requires further treatment which she has not been able to receive in Gaza. She has asked Israel for permission to travel. Her applications have so far[Read More…]

by 07/12/2016 1 comment Palestine
Life Turned Upside Down In Gaza

Life Turned Upside Down In Gaza

Inas Abu Muhadi cannot understand that she will never see her dad again. She remembers that her dad had a scooter. And each time she hears one, she expects to see her dad arriving home. The young girl’s father passed away from natural causes in July 2013. “Our life turned upside down after that day,” said her mother, Rajaa Abu[Read More…]

by 17/07/2016 1 comment Palestine