- Title: GAZA-PAINTED NEIGHBOURHOOD Gaza neighbourhood revived with paint and colour
- Date: 1st July 2015
- Summary: GAZA CITY, GAZA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MAN OPENING COLOUR TINS VARIOUS OF PEOPLE MIXING COLOURS VARIOUS OF MAN PAINTING DOOR DECORATED ALLEY IN NEIGHBOURHOOD RAMADAN LANTERN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT, IMAD NAYEF, SAYING: "We wanted to get out of the atmosphere of destruction, blackness and smoke to the atmosphere of bright colours, building, roses, trees and col
- Embargoed: 16th July 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Gaza
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA2YYZO5P831K3PFYGRAXCCSDWN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Residents of the Gaza neighbourhood of Al-Zaytoun are hoping to lift the town's spirits by adding a little colour into their lives.
Armed with paint brushes and vibrant, bright coloured paints the group are transforming walls across the town.
The idea began with resident Imad Nayef who found that planting plants in colourful pots helped improve his mood. From there he began encouraging his neighbours to come together and paint the walls of Al-Zaytoun.
"We wanted to get out of the atmosphere of destruction, blackness and smoke to the atmosphere of bright colours, building, roses, trees and colouring of walls so we can get some kind of a relief. After I've witnessed what we went through this could possibly be a big part of mental therapy," said Nayef.
A ceasefire last August ended 50 days of fighting between Gaza militants and Israel in which health officials said more than 2,100 Palestinians were killed. Israel put the number of its own dead at 67 soldiers and six civilians.
Israeli air strikes and shelling hammered the densely-populated enclave, causing widespread destruction of homes and schools.
The painting initiative was carried out in cooperation with Tamer Institute for Community Education, which provided paint equipment and material for the residents.
Artist Dalia Abdelrahman was one of those who took part.
"The initiative of colouring al-Zaytoun neighbourhood is one of the initiatives of the "Building Hope" project by Tamer Institute for Community Education. The initiative is to beautify, colour and decorate the neighbourhood with decorations using warm and joyful colours, using environmental friendly materials," she said.
Resident Mirvat Hadad also found that the project helped improve people's spirits, during what are difficult times for many in Gaza.
"This is a great idea, we feel psychologically relieved with all these views, colours, formats and shapes. It is really, really good," she said.
Gaza, a small impoverished coastal enclave, is under blockade by neighbouring Israel.
Israeli forces boarded a boat on Monday (June 29) that was leading a protest flotilla of foreign activists trying to break the blockade of Gaza.
The flotilla is the latest in a series of such voyages across the Mediterranean in protest against Israel's nine-year blockade of Islamist Hamas-dominated Gaza.
Activists said the boats had set sail with a cargo of solar panels intended to help alleviate electricity shortages in Gaza, as well as medical equipment for the impoverished territory, home to 1.7 million Palestinians. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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