SubscribeAl Jazeera Blames Sanctions For Pali Sewage
From the environmentalists at Al Jazeera:
Sewage runs through the streets of Gaza
Pollution adding to Gaza’s woes
By Nour Odeh in Gaza
The Gaza Strip is the most densely populated piece of land in the world but it has had little or no investment in infrastructure for years, and the situation has worsened since sanctions were imposed last year.
With no sewage plant, Gaza’s waste is dumped into the sea, making it unsafe for fishing or swimming according to a recent report.
It was envisioned to be Gaza’s open-ended source of possibilities. But the Gaza shore is now too polluted to use safely.
It is estimated that 20 million cubic metres of raw sewage are pumped into the sea every year through 14 discharge outlets spanning the 42km-long shore.
The stench is unbearable but it was the skin rashes children developed after swimming that drove Ramadan Abu Seif, a resident of the Al-Shate refugee camp, which is next to one of the sewage-discharge outlets, to act.
He says that he has to tell children playing by the sea to stay away. “They are kids, they don’t know”, he says.
It would take over $200 million to construct the needed sewage treatment plants in Gaza, but given the current political climate, donors are not expected to put up this amount any time soon.
In some areas the sewage is collected in open pools, which are fast reaching full capacity, threatening nearby neighbourhoods with disaster.
Samir al-Afifi, the director of the Palestinian Environmental Friends Association, has been studying pollution on Gaza’s shores for the past 10 years.
He recently published a study on the Rafah shores, concluding that they are simply not safe for swimming or fishing.
He says: “Eye, skin infection, ear infection and headache - there is a close relation between the level of contamination of sea water and the people who are visiting these sites.”
Al-Afifi says the pollution sometimes reaches two to five kilometres into the sea and that even the shore sand is polluted.
The quality of fish is already suffering.
He says that “a suitable site to be used for recreation” cannot be found anywhere in the Gaza Strip.
Without treatment plants, creating a sewage network like the one in central Gaza has caused more damage than good. Here, out of sight has not been out of mind.
With international sanctions still choking the struggling Palestinian economy and no political horizon in sight, addressing this menacing problem will have to wait while the cost of politics and occupation continues to mount.
Do tell.
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20 Responses to “Al Jazeera Blames Sanctions For Pali Sewage”
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March 1st, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Yet once again, there are people who will insist that this is somehow the fault of Israel and the United States.
March 1st, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Clearly this is George W. Bush’s fault, oops I meant Nancy Pelosi’s fault for lying about Hamas.
March 1st, 2007 at 3:16 pm
I read that George W. Bush had the hurricane making machine that he used on new Orleans converted into a sewer backer upper.
I guess this whole thing is going to mess up my Palestinian Beach Vacation this summer.
March 1st, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Don’t remember where I read it…but the Gazans are digging up sewer pipes to use as rocket launchers. That’s another reason why they have a sewage problem. But killing JOOOS is much more important than your kid’s health….right?
March 1st, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Gee, How many decades did they have to build treatment plants before the sanctions?
March 1st, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Palestine is a cesspool, a toilet….you know, kind of like N’awlins.
March 1st, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Well when you shovel as much shiite as the Pali’s do , just how do you keep up?
March 1st, 2007 at 7:51 pm
“They are kids, they don’t know”, he says. I guess that’s what happens when you make bombs all day a school, you can’t smell the shit you’re swimming in….such a pity…….
March 1st, 2007 at 9:32 pm
When two turds swim together which one says, EEEW, You stink?
March 1st, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Yall are taking all my good lines, Gees.
March 1st, 2007 at 10:13 pm
Actually, I thought the whole area was floating on a sea of shiite.
March 1st, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Sorry bout that 1st.
March 1st, 2007 at 10:38 pm
No need to apologize to me. I just got kicked off Pandagon again.
Seems they don’t want to talk to real men.
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:05 am
Good work. All I got was a post deleted…. of course, I only made one post, but still…..
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:13 am
Apparently I snuck in under the radar. But they are all gone now. Can’t have anyone there who does’nt say, f*** every other word.
BTW, I would like to appoligize to everyone and especially SG for my behavior the other night. No excuse, just a bad day.
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:17 am
No need, Ist. We all have them.
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:19 am
March 2nd, 2007 at 10:25 am
And who among the World is suppose to feel real sympathy for a people that not only allows their ‘leaders’ to invest more in the destruction of it’s neighbors than in the their own country (heck infastructure is just the basics, not even a real overt investment) but go on to ‘elect’ the most radical ‘leaders’ to run their government.
My only hope is that the disease combined with sanctions and Israel’s ‘defense’ will soon elliminate the entire Pali problem all together.
March 3rd, 2007 at 6:02 pm
What is the difference between the Pali’s swimming and the other brown things floating in the water?
March 27th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
When does Spike Lee begin filming his expose about George W dynamiting “those” levees?