Gaza
John Ging in a TV-Interview, January 2009.
Photo by gw1. License: CC
Interview
Open the crossing points to Gaza!
Interview with John Ging, head of the United Nation's Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip and speaker at Heinrich-Boell-Foundation's international conference "The Transformation of Palestine" in March 2010. Currently, John Ging is under attack from radical islamists, who set fire to the tents of a UNRWA summer camp for Palestinian boys and girls on the Gaza beach. Even Hamas leaders, who are often critical of UNRWA, praise the excellent co-operation with UNRWA in the Gaza Strip. In an exclusive interview John Ging, points out the humanitarian crisis due to the ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip by Israel, which is in violation of international law, and laments the ignorance of the international community.
1. In Gaza we are witnessing a humanitarian crisis. How would you describe the situation of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip more than one year after the Gaza War?
The situation in Gaza is one of human misery and dignity denied as ordinary people struggle in their daily existence. Theirs is the tragedy of international failure to uphold fundamental rights; be it in the form of freedom of movement, access to markets and resources, or respect for the individual human being caught in a situation not of his or her own making. Eighteen months on, the destruction of December 2008-January 2009 continues to define the lives of hundreds of thousands. In March 2009, the international community assessed the costs of that destruction to lie in the area of US$4.5 billion. Add to that three years of blockade, a shattered private sector and a severely degraded physical environment and you have a sense of the reality lived by 1.5 million people, half of whom are children under the age of 18.
2. What are the main reasons for this crisis?
Prior to the 2008-2009 Gaza conflict, over the course of an entire decade, the socio-economic situation in Gaza had been in steady decline. Since the war, no meaningful recovery and reconstruction has been allowed to take place. What we currently find in Gaza is the result of a counter-productive access regime which must be reversed. A legal, functionally diverse economy has been replaced by a black market operation driven by an illegal tunnel industry along the border with Egypt. UNRWA, of course, cannot and will not purchase construction materials on the illegal black market. This approach is supported by the international community. Yet, at the same time our obligation is to assist those people whose lives have been devastated; we have been mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to do so. Therefore, there can be no excuse but to pursue all legal means to help, which, of course starts with the implementation on all sides of existing agreements and the application of international law.
3. Last year the international community pledged to give US$4.5 billion for reconstruction work in Gaza after the Gaza War. Why didn't the construction begin yet?
As long as the crossing points remain – in large part – closed, there will be no meaningful reconstruction work and recovery in Gaza. Under the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt, the crossing points between Israel and Gaza have been designated as channels for imports and exports of commercial goods. While I continue to call for these crossing points to open, I will add that the responsibility for the suffering of the people also lies with the international community. We therefore have to look into all available legal options, including the possibility of humanitarian assistance delivery to Gaza by sea.
4. UNRWA is the most important international provider for help in the Gaza Strip. What are the main obstacles for UNRWA to fulfil its mandate? What kind of help and support does UNRWA need most?
UNRWA is mandated to serve as a human development and humanitarian assistance Agency. Lack of access for construction materials and chronic underfunding are currently the two most important constraints on the Agency’s ability to fulfil its mandate. For example, due to ongoing access restrictions, we are unable to build new schools to accommodate thousands of 6-year olds who are slated for enrolment in the 2010/11 scholastic year. Moreover, with a projected funding shortfall Agency-wide of $90 million in 2010, we face a huge challenge to our operations. The approach to this situation must be two-pronged: unfettered access for the United Nations in Gaza and continued donor support of UNRWA’s critical work.
5. What is the impact of the political schism in Palestine on the work of UNRWA? How does the cooperation with the Hamas "government" in Gaza work?
UNRWA has provided assistance to the Palestine refugee population in Gaza for 60 years. This refugee population currently counts 1.1 million people. Just as our donors, our beneficiaries know the Agency as a United Nations organization outside the realm of politics. As in years past, UNRWA stands firmly with the refugees as a service provider in the sectors of education, health, relief, microfinance and emergency assistance. In this role the independence of the Agency is respected by the entire gamut of actors in the Gaza Strip. And we will not, of course, in any way, enter into a situation where the integrity and neutrality of our operations are compromised.
6. International observers and aid organizations are complaining about grave violations of international humanitarian law. Where and how is international law violated in the Gaza Strip? What can be done to address it? The blockade on Gaza constitutes collective sanction of an entire people, which contravenes international law. We have an international legal framework to guide our action on this. The people of Gaza are no different than people elsewhere; notwithstanding how they are oftentimes mischaracterized. The solution to this situation is simple – we need respect for the rights of Palestinians in Gaza, which starts with the application of international law.
7. What kind of international support is needed to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza?
We need action. After three full years of blockade, the international community agrees on the counter-productivity of this approach. Ordinary people have been impoverished over the course of our inaction. Their children are offered a truncated education for want of classrooms. Young, talented people are forced to remain unemployed. For people at the grassroots level, the realization of faulty policies must translate into a transformation of their situation from one of aid dependency to economic self-sufficiency; a fenced-off existence to freedom of movement; and collective sanction to dignified existence with respect for their fundamental, universally accepted human rights.