- Title: Gazans struggle to beat the heat in ongoing power crisis
- Date: 27th July 2017
- Summary: KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA (JULY 24, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF KHAN YOUNIS RESIDENT, JEHAN ABU MEHSEN, SPRAYING CHILDREN WITH WATER, CHILDREN PLAYING VARIOUS OF MAN USING PIECE OF CARDBOARD TO COOL HIMSELF VARIOUS OF ABU MEHSEN PUTTING WATER IN PLATE / USING PLATE TO COOL HERSELF (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) KHAN YOUNIS RESIDENT, JEHAN ABU MEHSEN, SAYING: "He (Jehan Abu Mehsen's husband) has (high blood) pressure, and I also have (high blood) pressure as well. There is no electricity to charge (electronics) or to cool down. As you can see, he (the man behind her) is using the piece of cardboard and I am using the tray." NEIGHBOURHOOD AT KHAN YOUNIS CHILDREN PLAYING IN KHAN YOUNIS NEIGHBOURHOOD GIRLS LOOKING OUT OF WINDOW VARIOUS OF MAN COOLING HIS HORSE WITH WATER GAZA CITY, GAZA (JULY 24, 2017) (REUTERS) GAZA CITY NEIGHBOURHOOD VARIOUS OF CHILDREN DRINKING ICED JUICE VARIOUS OF GAZAN FAMILY GAZA / GIRL CRYING FROM HEAT / LOCAL RESIDENT, ZAKIYEH MOUSA USING PLASTIC PLATES AS HAND FANS CEILING FAN TURNED OFF (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT OF GAZA, ZAKIYEH MOUSA, SAYING: "All night long, no girls, boys and old men can sleep, because of the heat. All night, they stay outside, holding their children and standing at the entrance of the house. They hold their children and wave a tray like this one at them. We have a child that could not sleep at all during the night because of the heat." VARIOUS OF CHILDREN LAYING ON GROUND CARS DRIVING ALONG GAZA CITY STREET ELECTRONICS SHOP SALES MANAGER OF ELECTRONICS SHOP, MAHMOUD ABU HAMDA, AT SHOP AIR-CONDITIONERS ON DISPLAY FANS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SALES MANAGER OF ELECTRONICS SHOP, MAHMOUD ABU HAMDA, SAYING: "This (power cuts) affected us a lot, in terms of the electronics. A lot of kinds including washing machines, refrigerator and screens. Also, we are in the summer season, it was supposed to be the season for selling the air-conditions and fans, but it affected us a lot and it is because of the power cuts." BOATS AT PORT OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA IN GAZA FAMILIES AT SEASIDE BOAT SAILING CHILDREN JUMPING INTO WATER CHILD SWIMMING IN SEA WOMAN GIVING CHILD TO MAN STANDING IN WATER GAZA SHORE FAMILIES ON BEACH (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RESIDENT OF GAZA, SABAH JOUDEH, SAYING: "We wanted to take the children to enjoy themselves, even if the sea (water) is polluted. We have to come but what can we do? The power cuts, and a lot of things as you know, especially with the summer heat, no one can stand it with no electricity and no fans." VARIOUS OF CHILDREN PLAYING AT BEACH SUN IN SKY BOY SITTING SEMI-BURIED SAND
- Embargoed: 10th August 2017 15:20
- Keywords: Palestinians Gaza City Heat Summer Power Khan Younis
- Location: GAZA CITY, KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA
- City: GAZA CITY, KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA0016RHQ79X
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: As Middle East summer temperatures continue to peak, Gazans are struggling to stay cool amid an ongoing power crisis, with less than four hours of electricity a day and little chance to run fans and air-conditioners.
With stifling conditions of over 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) the power crisis is affecting health and sanitation. Sewage treatment plants can't run which means raw sewage is pouring into the Mediterranean. The elderly and sick are desperately trying to handle the heat.
Plastic trays and scraps of cardboard are doubling as hand-held fans. Precious piped water is hosed over children and work animals. Those trying to sleep have abandoned clammy mattresses, preferring the relative cool of bare tiled floors.
In the southern town of Khan Younis, a woman bathed her children in a bucket in the street, while a man doused his horse with water.
One Khan Younis couple, the Abu Mehsens, both suffer from high blood pressure and said they were so beleaguered by the heat that simply fanning themselves is very draining.
"He (Jehan Abu Mehsen's husband) has (high blood) pressure, and I also have (high blood) pressure as well...as you can see, he is using the piece of cardboard and I am using the tray."
Hoping to pressure the Islamist Hamas group to relinquish control of Gaza, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has reduced his administration's payments to Israel for the electricity it supplies to Gaza. That has left the 2 million Palestinians there with only a few hours of power a day.
Hospitals and other emergency facilities have made do with back-up generators. Few ordinary Palestinians have that option.
The situation has hurt Gaza's meagre retail sector, with vendors saying that sales of electrical appliances have tanked. One exception has been cheap rechargeable fans, which can be stored, with full batteries, in anticipation of the power cuts.
"This (power cuts) affected us a lot, in terms of the electronics. A lot of kinds including washing machines, refrigerator and screens. Also, we are in the summer season, it was supposed to be the season for selling air-conditions and fans, but it affected us a lot and it is because of the power cuts,'' said the sales manager of an electronics shop, Mahmoud Abu Hamda.
The situation has even affected family excursions that elsewhere are considered a delight.
Local resident Sabah Joudah still takes her children to the beach despite the sewage problems.
"We wanted to take the children to enjoy themselves, even if the sea (water) is polluted," she said as the dirty surf lapped close by. "With the summer heat, no one can stand it with no electricity and no fans."
Environment officials say disruptions at sewage treatment facilities have meant more than 100,000 litres of untreated wastewater is discharged along the coast daily. Around 75 percent of the seawater is polluted.
Swimming there frequently leaves children with skin inflammations and abdominal complaints, parents say. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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