GAZA STRIP: Former Palestinian labourer in Israel now collects scrap metal in order to feed his family

Record ID: 1538945

  • Title: GAZA STRIP: Former Palestinian labourer in Israel now collects scrap metal in order to feed his family
  • Date: 2nd May 2007
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MANUAL LABOURER ALA'A ZUROUB SAYING: "I have thirteen children. I used to work for the Israelis inside the settlement, then it was evacuated and I could not find a job. So I bought a horse which cost me 650 Jordanian dinars (about 1,000 USD). God only knows where I got that money from. Now I collect metal and sell it."
  • Embargoed: 17th May 2007 14:31
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5FZPDGH8F5R0VQ2PUPIV93SEA
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Ala'a Zuroub used to work as a construction worker for Israelis in an Israeli settlement until it was evacuated. Now he collects scrap metal in order to feed his 13 children. Manual labourer Ala'a Zuroub used to rely on work in the Gaza Strip's Jewish settlements for a source of income. But this all changed when the settlements were evacuated Israel quit Gaza under two years ago.
    The Palestinian Authority could not find him and thousands of others like him alternative careers, and he now collects and sell scrap metal for a living.
    After a painful year of economic sanctions against the Hamas-led government, dwindling trade and factional fighting, times have never been tougher for impoverished Gaza residents like Ala'a Zuroub.
    Prices for scrap metal have plummeted because of frequent Israeli closures of Gaza's main commercial crossing, curbing access to markets beyond the narrow coastal strip's borders.
    Like thousands of other Gazans Zuroub and his family of a wife and 13 children survive by picking through the remains of abandoned Israeli settlements. Israel pulled its forces and settlers out in 2005.
    "I used to work for the Israelis inside the settlement, then it was evacuated and I could not find a job. So I bought a horse which cost me 650 Jordanian dinars (about 1,000 US dollars). God only knows where I got that money from. Now I collect metal and sell it," Zuroub said.
    Metal factory owners say the frequent closure of the Karni commercial crossing has driven down scrap metal prices because there is no longer a steady export market.
    When the crossing was open more regularly, the factories would frequently sell their compressed metal for recycling in Israel.
    Some 60,000 Gaza workers are unemployed and extra employment in Israel is a way for them to bring much needed funds into the Gaza Strip's economy.
    Before the uprising, around 125,000 people from Gaza held permits to work in Israel, according to the Palestinian Labour Ministry.
    Zuroub has now taken his sons out of school to help him collect scrap metal.
    "I took my sons out of school to work with me in collecting metal. We gain 20 to 30 shekels (about 5 - 7 USD a day). My son is sick - he has something in his eyes, he had two surgeries which were not successful. We have no money. What can I do? I make 20 to 30 shekels in order to feed my family," Zuroub said.
    The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in the Gaza Strip due to restrictions on movement for the Palestinians and the limited trade to Israel via Karni, the Erez crossing and the Rafah border - which is the only window to the world for Gaza residents.
    Around 78 percent of Gazans live below the poverty line, earning less than 2 US dollars per day.
    Overall, the Palestinian economy has declined by 38 percent in the last four years. It has struggled even more since Hamas took power in January 2006.
    The Hamas-led government has struggled to function due to Western sanctions imposed after the Islamist group, dedicated to Israel's destruction, won the elections in March 2006.
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