March 6, 2001 — Mudeif Productions

*Elizabeth makes friends with a lamb in Gaza, Palestine.*

*Exporting from Gaza has become so prohibitive that tomatoes are dumped by the side of the road.*

Meat for breakfast, then it was time to feed the sheep. The mother of these babies is ill and so the babies need to be fed by hand. Elizabeth cozied up to them. We then went on a drive around the see the family's lands. One particular stop was their tomato greenhouse. Almost all of the produce grown in Gaza (for local consumption and export) is grown in the southern region. But now it is impossible not only to export, but even to bring past the Kfar Darom traffic snarl to the north end of the Gaza Strip. As a result, prices in Gaza are through the roof while prices near Abasan and Khan Yunis have plummeted to less than 10% (a big box of tomatoes now costs 50 cents). In this family's case (and in many others), it costs more in petrol to drive to the greenhouse to pick up their own tomatoes than it does to buy them from a nearby greenhouse. The result is that most of the produce is simply rotting on the vine while people in Gaza City have none. Economic strangulation. As more family visits continued, we met cousins who were Palestinians born in Algeria. Since their father was not Algerian, they cannot have Algerian citizenship. Having been born abroad, they don't have Palestinian identity cards, either. They came six years ago on a tourist visa and are working as medical doctors, but have no citizenship. This means that they cannot travel abroad - or now even within the Gaza Strip without the possibility of arrest or expulsion. There are an estimated 70,000 people in Gaza in similar circumstances. We pondered these things as we gazed at the beautiful view and peaceful sunset.