The first thing we should understand about Gaza is the contrast in the environment there in comparison with the environment in the Philippines. Where manila buzzes with activity and constant development, Gaza on the other hand is often suffering from the constrains of long-standing conflict, I myself have witnessed five wars against the people of Gaza during my life time, and when I say five wars dear reader I don’t mean that the times between those five wars were calm and peaceful, every now and then an Israeli bombing or artillery fire would disrupt the livelihood of the citizens in Gaza.
The unlawful siege
During my stay there I have witnessed the people of Gaza suffer from the siege that was unjustly enforced upon them by Israel for more that eighteen years going against all human right laws that condemn such acts. I was humbled by the resilience the Palestinians show every day while they endure starvation, lack on electricity, shortage of clean water and cooking Gaza, and the constant fear from being ripped to shreds by an Israeli bomb. All while trying to live a normal life and to strive for a better future.
Striving for a career
Trying to have a career in Gaza was one of the most difficult challenges there, due to the lack of resources available because of the siege, development was hard and while Gaza has a large number of college graduates compared to other countries, the employment rate is very low. In fact it’s so low that organizations had to resort to employment by contracts which lasted only a few months offering no job security what so ever, all that just to give other people a chance to be able to feed their families.
Local business also find it difficult to strive in an environment that offered no resources for entrepreneurs to create something new in the markets. All this forced a lot of graduates including myself to search for work outside our fields just to make ends meet.
The Filipino community in Gaza
As Filipinos do they stick together whatever happens, and in Gaza this fact was no different.
The Filipino there formed a community with a strong bond, we shared activities and held group gatherings that included fun activities, and we enjoyed socializing with each other and the communities we lived in, we always made sure to have a positive impact and leave a good impression of our country, as a result I believe that the Filipino in Gaza are treated very well and are held in high regards in the Gaza community.
As a Filipino living there I have shared the experience of the Palestinian people, the good and the bad, from a very young age I have stood in front of a tanks cannon, faced true horror and experienced loss, I know the sounds of bullets whizzing near my head and the sound of a bomb that is about to land near me, I know the distance that a nearby explosion can throw me, I know what actually starving feels like, and I know what it’s like to make peace with the thought that you may not wake up the next day, I have seen what war crimes actually look like, but through all those hardships I find myself loving Gaza for its people who are very warm and kind, they never let me feel estranged or unwelcome, even in hard times and lack of food and resources they would come to check on us constantly and share what every little they had.
