Troubled Ramadan for Gaza

A series of bad conditions continue to haunt breadwinners this month, who are now shy of family members whom they support...

Gazans pray, celebrate and decorate at the start of Ramadan 2017, on May 28, 2017 [Mohammed Asad / Middle East Monitor]

The month of Ramadan comes this year accompanied by a variety of crises, and in circumstances not previously known.

Along with the electricity crisis and the crisis of the salaries of PA employees being cut by 30-45 per cent, there are further problems with the cessation of medical supplies and the subsequent sanctions on the Gaza Strip, including the closure of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

Gaza’s unemployment rate has reached 41 per cent, approximately 200,000 people of working age in the Gaza Strip, during the first quarter of 2017. These statistics and figures are attributed to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and to the reports of the International Labour Organisation.

A series of bad conditions continue to haunt breadwinners this month, who are now shy of family members whom they support due to their concern over how they will buy goods and necessary items throughout Ramadan in a manner just like Muslims all over the world.

Family heads may not be able to buy the Ramadan lanterns for their children who may be deprived of the joy and the atmosphere of the ordinarily special month.

This atmosphere is clearly reflected in the shops, which reported a decrease in consumer purchasing power which reduced the volume of purchases due to the current situation and the lack of political clarity and stability.

Images by MEMO Photographer Mohammed Asad.

Gazans pray, celebrate and decorate at the start of Ramadan 2017, on May 28, 2017 [Mohammed Asad / Middle East Monitor]

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