Rising unemployment and poverty rates amid lockdown

M.H, is a 37-year-old restaurant owner from Deir Al Balah. He spoke to Al Mezan about the financial losses he incurred during the lockdown:

 

“I opened the restaurant in 2014, it serves Shawarma and barbecue and it’s located in the Middle Gaza district. My restaurant has a great reputation and the demand is good especially because we are keen to apply the preventive measures. I have 12 workers in my restaurant who financially support a total number of dependents that surpasses 50 individuals, among them women and children.

 

On Monday 24 August 2020, the Ministry of Interior imposed a full lockdown on all districts after discovering coronavirus cases in Al Maghazi refugee camp. I was committed to the Ministry’s directive and I informed my workers that we’ll stop our work for the sake of our health and safety. The closure was sudden and the unexpected business interruption led to considerable financial losses. We also incurred additional financial losses due to the power crisis  as the intermittent refrigeration spoiled meat stokes valued at thousands of Shekels, in addition to accrued expenses such as rent and utility bills. As the lockdown continued, and in order to avoid accumulating more debts, I had no choice but to lay-off my workers; twelve families have lost their income.

I also decided that my family and I will run the restaurant after lockdown measures are eased; I will not hire any workers because I’m planning to reduce my expenditures.

 

On Saturday, 5 September 2020, the Ministry of Interior eased the lockdown measures in Deir Al Balah and lifted the curfew from 7am until 8pm. However, restaurants are not likely to benefit from this move because our peak workload is at the evening hours and at night.

In light of the curfew  hours set by the Ministry, we might opt for closing our restaurant till the restrictions on movement are lifted completely. Until then, I’m spending from my savings to pay off my financial obligations to suppliers. I don’t know what to do once I go through all the money I have saved—which is not a lot by the way. I’m in a bad mood all the time. I’m not only worried about my family and their needs, but I’m also worried about my former workers and their families who must have also been struggling financially”.

Mother struggle to care for her infant in COVID-19 isolation facility

Over 13 years of blockade and closure undermined health care provision to residents of the Gaza Strip. Now the health care sector is struggling to provide the basic needs of people in COVID-19 isolation centers.

S.H.S. and her 10-month-old infant both tested positive for COVID-19. She spoke to Al Mezan about her struggle to take care of her child inside the isolation facility:

“My test result came back positive; I probably contracted the virus from my husband, but my baby’s result were negative at first. I was therefore admitted by myself to the isolation center. The next day, I was shocked to see my baby’s name included in the list of patients who tested positive for the virus. He was then brought to me to the school which is supervised by the European Gaza Hospital (a school transformed to house COVID-19 cases). He was suffering from diarrhea, vomiting and was extremely  tired. I was not provided with food suitable for a child of his age; he gets the same meal as adults. I continuously asked those in charge of the isolation facility to provide my baby with diapers, milk and baby cereals. These basic needs were only provided after multiple and repeated requests. Furthermore, I’ve asked many times if my son could have some toys to play with but to no avail. I reside in Gaza and it’s difficult to bring his toys to the isolation facility (in Khan Younis). In addition, this place was setup without any consideration to personal privacy, and no effort is made to gather members of the same families in one place. The lack of toys and other equipment makes it a struggle to care for children and puts additional burdens on mothers (who are also battling COVID-19)”.

When death becomes a wish

A 46-year-old man works as a security guard. He has six children and supports his parents. He spoke about the living conditions after the spread of COVID-19 in the Gaza Strip:

“I could barely cover my family’s daily needs from my income which does not exceed 1000 ILS and which I receive every 40 days. I’m a simple man, I live in North Gaza district, and I work as a guard at one of the governmental headquarters in Gaza. My oldest son studies in the university, and my wife is sick. She lost sight in one of her eyes and she does not see well with the other. She needs ointments and blood thinners, constantly. I usually bring her medicines from the UNRWA clinic or the government clinics, and sometime I buy them out my own pocket. My 82-year-old mother lives with us and she suffers from hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease, and thus takes medicines on daily basis. I bear the cost of some of her medications.

People think that because I have a job my economic condition is fine, but what they don’t know is that I can barely live with the income I earn. I made my old son skip his university for this semester because I cannot afford his tuitions. I buy the cheapest available medicines for my mother and wife. We eat meat only once every month. My children don’t even use transportation, instead, they walk. My wife cannot bake bread in the house because of her weak sight and I cannot buy bread from the bakery. I make the bread myself in the house. We drink from [salty] tap water because I cannot afford filtered drinking water. I take the long road back from work to evade the supermarket because my groceries’ debt reached 4,000 ILS. After the outbreak of COVID-19, things became worse, I cross miles every day on foot from my house in North Gaza to Gaza City. Due to the lockdown, my only option to get medication for my mother and my wife is to buy it from pharmacies. We eat only bread with thyme without olive oil. Two days ago, my sister called me, she’s also experiencing a bad living condition, she wanted to borrow 20 Shekels from me which I did not have; I only had four shekels. I hanged up the phone and started crying alone in my room. I had to sell my cell phone, and I’m planning to sell my wife’s cell phone too. There is nothing else I can sell to provide my family with the daily needs. I don’t know when will this end, but I wish to die every day.”

Small business owners’ fear of the unknown

A 31-year-old female owner and director of a kindergarten west of Khan Younis city along with five staff members depend on this job as their only source of income. They have been experiencing bad economic conditions as their financial return became insufficient. The kindergarten’s director said,

“in the middle of March 2020 when a lockdown was imposed due to the spread of COVID-19, we accepted the decision with understanding and commitment despite of the great losses we would incur due to the lack of work. We tried to overcome this situation and we endured the crisis with the hope that in the new academic year we would pay off our accumulated debt. I was too optimistic, especially with the huge turnout of people seeking enrolment in the kindergarten. However, after the lockdown has been imposed again on 24 August 2020, I was disappointed and shocked, as the decision came after three weeks of the start of the new academic year, and we were not [financially] prepared to close the kindergarten, especially that we’re still unable to pay the overdue rent which reached 3,600 ILS. Besides that, the financial conditions of the staff are very bad. We have nothing to do but to wait until officials decide whether to extend the lockdown or live with the pandemic like other counties did. I’m very concerned that the lockdown will last for long and that we might incur heavy losses that could eventually lead us to close the kindergarten for good. I hope the pandemic recedes before we reach that stage.”

خطر الجوع يتهدد عمال المياومة

يقول المواطن (ع.ك) والبالغ من العمر ٢٦ عام، مضى على تخرجي من قسم الصحافة والاعلام في الجامعة أكثر من ٤ سنوات، متزوج وأب لطفل، وأسكن في مخيم الشاطئ في مدينة غزة وأعمل في مصنع لصناعة الحلوى. أحصل على دخل بالكاد يسد احتياجات أسرتي الصغيرة، فكنت أضطر في بعض الأحيان إلى اللجوء لوالدي للمساعدة في تزويدي ببعض الاحتياجات الأساسية لأسرتي مثل الزيت والسكر والدقيق من أجل تخفيف الضغوط المالية، وكانت عائلتي تقدم لي المساعدة دوماً. 

ومع إعلان الرئيس حالة الطوارئ مطلع مارس الماضي، توقفت المدارس ورياض الأطفال بشكل ما أدى الى توقف عملنا بشكل كامل، لأن اعتمادنا كان بنسبة ٨٠٪ على المدارس ورياض الأطفال مما اضطرني وبعد تجديد حالة الطوارئ إلى العمل على عربة لبيع المشروبات الساخنة. كان الإقبال على المشروبات ضعيفاً بسبب ارتفاع الحرارة وفصل الصيف. ومع إعلان وزارة التربية والتعليم بداية شهر اغسطس الماضي افتتاح المدارس ورياض الأطفال، عاد المصنع الذي كنت أعمل فيه للعمل.

ولكن جاء اليوم الذي كنا نخشاه ونرجو الله ألا يأتي، وهو اليوم الذي أعلنت فيه وزارة الصحة في غزة اكتشاف مصابين بفايروس كورونا خارج مراكز الحجر، والإعلان عن تفعيل خطة الطوارئ لمكافحة انتشار الفايروس، وإعلان وزارة الداخلية حظر التجوال في مناطق قطاع غزة كافة وإغلاق المدارس ورياض الأطفال وهو الاثنين الموافق 24/8/2020. فقدت مصدر دخلي الوحيد مرة أخرى، ولم أعد قادراً على توفير الاحتياجات الأساسية لأسرتي. ومنذ ذلك اليوم وأنا ملتزم ببيتي خاصة أنني أسكن في حي يعد من أكثر مناطق وأحياء قطاع غزة كثافة سكانية ولا أخرج إلا للضرورة القصوى لتلبية الاحتياجات الأساسية للمنزل والتي أجتهد في محاولتي تقليل تكاليفها، أتمنى أن تتخذ الجهات الحكومة خطوات لمساندة عمال المياومة لحمايتهم من الجوع.

Children’s lives are at risk

 A nine-year-old child suffers from Hemophilia since he was a year old. His parents have been following-up his case with a doctor in Gaza, and he has been taking medicines for his illness for so long. His father said sadly:

“since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Gaza Strip and the full lockdown imposed on Monday 24 August 2020, my son has not taken his medicine. I took him to Abu Youssif Al Najjar Hospital in Rafah, Nasser and the Red Crescent Hospitals in Khan Younis but no one provided us with the medicine. My son’s life is threatened if he did not take his medicine.”

 

The risk increases under the spread of Coronavirus pandemic which mainly endanger people with chronic diseases and patients with weakened immune system, in addition to thousands of other cases who are in need of treatment but cannot have it due to the chronic lack of medicines in the Gaza Strip.

Food security of daily-wage labourers in Gaza

A.K. is a 26-year-old daily-wage worker who spoke to Al Mezan about his struggle to secure his family's basic needs under COVID-19 lockdown:

 

“I graduated from the faculty of Journalism and Media four years ago. I’m married and a father of one child. I live in Beach refugee camp in Gaza and I work in a candy factory. My income hardly covers my small family’s basic needs. Sometimes my parents provide us with some of our daily needs such as cooking oil, sugar and flour, which eases my financial burden a bit; my parents have always supported me. 

Back in March 2020, schools and kindergartens in Gaza were closed as a precautionary measure against the potential spread of COVID-19 in the community. Our work, %80 of which caters to schools and kindergartens, came to a halt and I lost my job. To make up the lost income, I started selling hot drinks from a street cart, however, its financial return was too little, possibly due to the hot summer weather driving down the demand. When schools and kindergartens opened for the new academic year at the beginning of August, I got my job back at the candy factory. Soon after, on 24 August 2020, the Ministry of Health announced discovering COVID-19 cases in the wider community which prompted a full lockdown this time. 

I lost my main source of income once more and I cannot cover my family’s basic needs. Considering that I reside in one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Gaza, I’ve been staying at home since the start of the lockdown and only go out when it’s absolutely necessary. I hope the government bodies would take steps to support daily-wage laborers”. 

No social safety net for daily wage workers

 

J.S. is 35-year-old daily wage worker struggling to make ends meet under COVID-19 lockdown:

“I live in Deir Al Balah in Middle Gaza district. I’m married and a father of two children. I’m a taxi driver. Due to the lack of electricity, the water is only available for two/three hours once in every three days. Sometimes municipal water is supplied through the main lines during the power cut, which makes pumping it to the roof-top tanks almost impossible. So, when this happens, we fill in water into the large pots available in the house to use it later. During the past days, my tanks ran out of water for two days, and due to the poor finical situation, I could not buy filtered water as an alternative to the municipal water which is very salty and is not suitable for drinking. Furthermore, I work on a taxi owned by another person, and we live off that income. My daily wage ranges between 20 to 25 ILS, I do my best to meet my family needs with this money, and it’s barely sufficient for our basic needs. I’ve been living in very bad conditions since Monday, 24 August 2020, when the Ministry of Interior imposed a lockdown due to the outbreak of COVID-19, as I lost my daily income. I did not receive aid from any governmental or civil bodies. I have no idea how I’m going to secure my family’s basic needs in the coming days if the lockdown continues. I call on officials, governmental bodies and civil organizations to work hard to find solutions to ease the current crisis.”

Daily wage workers unable to meet their families’ basic needs

A 38-year-old taxi driver told Al Mezan:

“I live in Jabaliya in North Gaza district. I’m married and I live with seven family members. I’ve been working as a taxi driver since 2000. It’s my only source of income. Due to the recent imposed lockdown, the traffic police imposed a fine estimated at 6,000 ILS on any car that moves with no clear justification. Accordingly, I’m no longer able to secure food to my family, pay the supermarket’s debts, or secure a nebulizer to my young son Mohammed who suffers from Asthma. As you all know, taxi drivers depend on a daily wage and if they don’t work for one day, they cannot afford their food. Currently, we have no food in the house, I cannot meet my children’s needs, I don’t have money to recharge the prepaid electricity meter and thus cannot make use of the four hours of daily electricity and I will not be able to buy cooking gas once it’s consumed.”

Poverty and lockdown: double threat facing the elderly living with chronic diseases in Gaza.

M.N. is a 40-year-old man supporting two family members with chronic diseases. He spoke to Al Mezan about his family’s struggle with the lockdown:

“I live in Al Maghazi camp in Middle Gaza district. Following the Ministry of Health (MoH) statement about discovering coronavirus cases in Al Maghazi on Monday, 24 August 2020, the security services imposed a lockdown and closed all the camp’s entrances, markets, governmental and non-governmental institutions, including the UNRWA clinic. My father is 71 years old and has chronic hypertension, and my mother is 65 years old and suffers from hypertension and diabetes. They follow-up their treatment in Al Maghazi clinic, where they are both provided with prescription drugs on monthly basis. Unfortunately, the lockdown began on the day they were supposed to receive their monthly refill of medicines. I was worried about my parents; I had no money to buy their medicines from the pharmacy. I tried many times to call the emergency hotline number of the Ministry of Health but it was always busy. I call on all the governmental bodies, the UNRWA, and the international organizations to immediately intervene and provide treatment to the elderly and patients with chronic diseases without further delay.”