As customers dwindle, pandemic slashes Gazan street vendor's income

Record ID: 1586103

  • Title: As customers dwindle, pandemic slashes Gazan street vendor's income
  • Date: 10th November 2020
  • Summary: GAZA CITY, GAZA (NOVEMBER 8, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN HAWKER, AYMAN ALGHAZALI, SAYING: "I usually leave the house and head to the seaside. Before the coronavirus, during this time of year, the beach used to be full of people, but now as you can see people are scared of the coronavirus here in the Gaza Strip. The beach and the seaside are very empty." VIEW OF NEAR-EMPTY BEACH ALGHAZALI CALLING ON PEOPLE TO BUY LUPINI BEANS WHILE PUSHING HIS CART NEXT TO A SIGN READING (English): "GAZA" (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN HAWKER, AYMAN ALGHAZALI, SAYING: "I sell broad beans and lupini beans for people to snack on, also I sell roasted beans." ALGHAZALI CALLING ON PEOPLE TO BUY BEANS VIEW OF BEANS WITH SLICED LEMON ON TOP OF THEM VIEW OF GAZA'S EMPTY BEACH (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN HAWKER, AYMAN ALGHAZALI, SAYING: "Before the coronavirus hit, I used to sell until 12:00 to 1:00 AM, as long as there were people walking on the seaside, I would stay up to 12:00, 1:00 AM, as long as there are people there, I would stay. On Friday when they made us leave at 19:00, there were people, but the government was making us leave." ALGHAZALI CALLING ON PEOPLE TO BUY BEANS ALGHAZALI SELLING BEANS TO CUSTOMERS ALGHAZALI SPRINKLING WATER ON BEANS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN HAWKER, AYMAN ALGHAZALI, SAYING: "I hope (U.S,) president (elect) Joe Biden would bring back the (UNRWA) aid and (UNRWA) coupons. Our situation is very tragic. The aid that was cut in the Gaza Strip and the UNRWA'S aid keeps on shrinking, they keep on shrinking. Last time I received a coupon from the UNRWA, it was much less than before." VARIOUS OF ALGHAZALI CALLING ON PEOPLE TO BUY ALGHAZALI MIXING BEANS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN HAWKER AYMAN ALGHAZALI, SAYING: "I went to the seaside and it was empty, so I couldn't keep coming to the seaside and find it empty, there is no way to continue making a living like this, so I quickly started to move from one area to another because I cannot waste my day and stay near the seaside, because there aren't as many people there as it used to be before the coronavirus." ALGHAZALI CALLING ON PEOPLE TO BUY HIS PRODUCTS
  • Embargoed: 24th November 2020 14:08
  • Keywords: COVID-19 Coronavirus Gaza Gaza City Palestinians Vendors
  • Location: GAZA CITY, GAZA
  • City: GAZA CITY, GAZA
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Living/Lifestyle,Middle East,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA001D3ZIFYT
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: For almost half of his life, Palestinian vendor Ayman Alghazali, 40, has been selling street food for Gaza's beachgoers. But he says his business has been hit hard by the global pandemic and people abandoning the city's busy spots due to lockdown.
    The father of four used to take his cart to Gaza's seaside to sell beans until late at night. With the novel coronavirus hitting the besieged strip, he had no other choice but to seek out customers by pushing his small cart around the city.
    "There is no way to continue making a living like this, so I quickly started to move from one area to another," he explained.
    Due to the lockdown, Alghazali is forced to go home early with fewer customers and more places to frequent across the city.
    With the election of Joe Biden as U.S. new president, Alghazali sees a glimmer of hope. With incumbent President Donald Trump cutting aid to the United Nations refugee agency supporting Palestinians UNRWA, the vendor hopes the new president-elect will adopt better policies toward Palestinians.
    Before the U.S. aid cut, Alghazali used to receive a package of food supplies that includes flour, milk, sesame oil, lentils, chickpeas, rice and sugar. Now, he receives a smaller package with fewer items once every three months.
    The U.S. was by far the biggest donor to UNRWA, which provides education, health and relief services to around 5.7 million registered refugees.
    (Production: Abed Shana, Mohammed Shana, Suheir Sheikh, Mustafa Abu Ganeyeh)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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