1,000 Days

“One thousand days ago, Gaza became the world’s largest outdoor prison, those are not my words, but the words of John Holmes, the UN’s chief humanitarian officer. One thousand days ago, Gaza’s gates to the outside world were closed and locked. Pedestrian and commercial traffic came to a grinding halt and Gaza began its tail spin into the catastrophic reality it finds itself in today, becoming the first territory in recent history forced into a de-developmental nose dive as a result of a deliberate policy. For 1,000 days, one Palestinian has died every other day as a result of having no access to need medical care – 500 in total since the beginning of the siege, according the Palestinian Campaign to Break the Siege on Gaza. The socio-economic indicators speak for themselves. Unemployment is at a staggering 60 per cent, and 80 per cent of the people live under the poverty line dependent on food aid or assistance from international donors. Children have shown signs of stunted growth as a result of malnutrition and post-traumatic stress disorder are common among adults and children. Power outages are rampant and rolling blackouts across Gaza are a daily part of life here.”