Gaza Diary :: essays research papers

A Gaza Diary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A somewhat controversial publication by Chris Hedges, titled A Gaza Diary, illustrates to the reader his vivid experiences during his weeklong stay in what is know as the Gaza Strip. Hedges’s travels, with illustrator Joe Sacco, start in Jerusalem and proceeds down south through the Gaza strip to a Palestine camp refuge called Khan Younis, where they stay for the majority of the trip. They venture over to Mawasi, also a Palestine village, located on the coast. In both these locations he describes the constant unrest and turmoil that residents face everyday and every night.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hedges’s first entry has him in Beit Agron receiving his press pass and preparing for the dangerous trip ahead. While leaving he notes a man of Israeli Arabic descent that voices his opinion on the Palestinians and how they â€Å"are animals,† and that â€Å"†¦Israel is a land of love†¦Palestinians do not love†¦We should put fire to them.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  They proceed down the strip through gates and checkpoints. They meet up with Azmi Kashawi in Gaza City and make there way down to Abu Holi, a Israeli-controlled junction. At this junction Palestinian traffic is stopped until Jewish and Israeli troops are not in use of it. Sometimes they can wait up to hours or days and sometimes the gate is closed for long periods at a time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Later on that evening they arrive in Khan Younis. Hedges’s describes the refuge as a dense, concrete shantytown, with crude septic tanks at every house that can over flow into the dwellings. Drinking water is limited and dirty at best, and the mazes of houses that occupy the area are accompanied to layers of sand on anything and everything. The village is horseshoed by Israeli military posts that have guns pointed down onto the rooftops constantly. They converse with a born resident of Khan Younis named Fuad Faquawi. He runs the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian Refugees in the village. As they speak, homemade mortars are sent up at the Israelis and groups of men and boys are out at the dunes throwing rocks at jeeps that patrol the Jewish settlement. Soldiers open fire and wound eight Palestinians. Boys are commonly found at the dunes daily, throwing rocks at the Israeli soldiers and get fired at. The Palestinian police are said to have given up on the holding the children back.