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Gaza Diary: Sewage on our doorstep
Aljazeera. ^ | 2/24/2008 | Manal

Posted on 02/24/2008 7:01:30 PM PST by ricks_place

Six months ago, a water pumping station - part of a system that serves 60 per cent of the population in Gaza - opened right next to my home. We were pleased to hear of this development as we previously had no other option but to dump our untreated sewage in water wells.

This had posed an immense health hazard to all members of the community.

So when we heard that our sewage would now be treated and we would no longer have to dump our waste near our homes, we were very relieved.

The new station receives up to 40,000 cubic metres of waste water every day, and it should pump 120 cubic metres an hour through each of six water pumps.

However, only three pumps were installed in the station because the Israeli closure and blockade since June 2007 had prevented the essential parts needed to build the remaining three from entering Gaza.

Power cuts have also been affecting the efficiency of the station. The emergency generator is not functioning well as it requires maintenance and spare parts are lacking. The limited amount of fuel that is let into Gaza is not enough to run the generator for long hours.

Toxic waste

"What disgusts me is that this could all have been prevented had the Israelis opened one checkpoint to allow the spare parts and fuel through."

Last summer, the station could not cope with the high volume of sewage, which was ultimately diverted to a nearby grove where the community had planted their olive trees and other crops. If you have seen an olive tree you will know that it is a hardy plant which can bear fruit even in the desert.

But since the diversion, all of the crops in that grove - including some 100 olive trees - died as a result of the toxic waste that was being pumped into the land.

The sewage continues to flow there to this day. The crops cultivated in this grove used to provide a source of income and food for the neighbourhood. Now the entire area has become a wasteland.

This station was supposed to be a blessing for the neighbourhood but it turned out to be a curse, a health hazard for us all.

Sewage water is filling the streets surrounding the station and flooding nearby houses.

The stench is unbearable.

Tenants in ground floor flats were forced to move in with neighbours on higher floors. People are now using sand bags to absorb the sewage water which continues to seep into their houses.

The amount of children who have been taken ill has increased considerably. Cases of diarrhea are mounting by the day. Even now, children continue to play outside amongst the raw sewage – where else can they go?

And we are now facing a public health crisis.

What disgusts me is that this could all have been prevented had the Israelis opened one checkpoint to allow the spare parts and fuel through.



TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
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Left to their own devices, the terrorist will kill themselves!
1 posted on 02/24/2008 7:01:34 PM PST by ricks_place
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To: ricks_place

Note last sentence — “It’s the Joooooooos!”


2 posted on 02/24/2008 7:06:58 PM PST by Snickersnee (Where are we going? And what's with this handbasket?)
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To: ricks_place

Gaza is truly a crappy place

Crappy people make a crappy place


3 posted on 02/24/2008 7:10:16 PM PST by bert (K.E. N.P. +12 . Never say never (there'll be a VP you'll like))
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To: Snickersnee

If the Jooos don’t take better care of them their job performance will suffer and they won’t be able to kill as many Jooos.

Soon to be a topic of discussion at the UN.


4 posted on 02/24/2008 7:11:06 PM PST by Iron Munro (Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.)
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To: Snickersnee

I did see that Jews were blamed but I could not locate the sewer line from a Jewish settlement to Gaza! Hamas sends rockets into Israel while awash in $hit!


5 posted on 02/24/2008 7:14:13 PM PST by ricks_place
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To: ricks_place

Somebody call the “Whambulance”!


6 posted on 02/24/2008 7:14:17 PM PST by TheBlueMax (A nation that believes in nothing will always lose to an enemy that believes in something.)
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To: ricks_place
Hey Manal,

A generous application of napalm will sterilize the place and kill off all the vermin. Give it a try.

7 posted on 02/24/2008 7:14:24 PM PST by Navy Patriot (John McCain, the Manchurian Candidate.)
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To: ricks_place
Okay, one more time:

Gaza has MORE THAN ONE border. The Egyptians could have supplied all of the Gazans' needs, had they been inclined to do so.

Furthermore, Gaza has a functioning seaport. Pumps, fuel, or generator parts are only days away by ship.

The Israelis are not denying them stuff, only denying them FREE stuff.

8 posted on 02/24/2008 7:15:10 PM PST by ZOOKER ( Exploring the fine line between cynicism and outright depression)
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To: ricks_place

Metal can be used for rocket parts as well as pumps. As long as the metal that goes through a checkpoint comes back into Israel in the form of a rocket I wouldn’t let anything through the border.


9 posted on 02/24/2008 7:19:58 PM PST by Pete from Shawnee Mission
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To: ricks_place

Gaza, palestinians, muslims, islamists = untermensch/sewage/garbage/crap/junk/sh!t. They should feel right at home.

What’s the complaint? Oh, I forgot: it’s the Jooooooos!


10 posted on 02/24/2008 7:23:14 PM PST by do not press 2 for spanish
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To: ricks_place
Gaza is an amazing place. They hate Israel with a passion, and yet at the same time, depend on them. When Israel finally has enough of their hostilities and they shut down a checkpoint, and Gazans have to wallow in their own sewage, one would "think" that it would bring a willingness to possibly come to some "agreeable" resolution. But no....Oxfam reports it to Al-Jazeera, who in turn spew their anti-semitic rhetoric.

But in spite of Oxfam, and Al-Jazeera, and after it's all said and done, Gazans are still wallowing in their own poop, and the Israelis still control movement into, and out of Gaza. :-)
11 posted on 02/24/2008 7:24:42 PM PST by hiredhand (Check my "about" page. I'm the Prophet of Doom!)
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To: ZOOKER

I was going to say...I was JUST looking at a map of the place and they’ve got several miles of border with the Mediteranean Sea!


12 posted on 02/24/2008 7:26:33 PM PST by hiredhand (Check my "about" page. I'm the Prophet of Doom!)
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To: ricks_place
Israeli metal used for Kassam rockets Mar 4, 2007 Amar Azk, 37 [a metal merchant at the Karni crossing] was arrested Feruary 9, During his interrogation, he confessed selling the pipes to Hamas and other terrorist organizations that manufactured Kassam rockets, fired almost daily at Israel. The pipes that were sold to Zak were intended for the construction of a sewage system in Gaza. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1171894568749&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
13 posted on 02/24/2008 7:30:07 PM PST by anglian
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To: ricks_place
What disgusts me is that this could all have been prevented had the Israelis opened one checkpoint to allow the spare parts and fuel through.

And what disgusts me is the Israeli's lack of imagination. I'd suggest they use thousands of short range rockets to deliver the spare parts and fuel that the Gazans need.
14 posted on 02/24/2008 7:39:03 PM PST by flowerplough ( Obama smokes!)
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To: ricks_place
we previously had no other option but to dump our untreated sewage in water wells.

Pardon the pun, but WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP.

You never have to dump sewage down a water well.

15 posted on 02/24/2008 7:59:11 PM PST by SIDENET (Hubba Hubba...)
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To: ZOOKER
This is like the Left blaming the US trade embargo for Cuba’s economic misery. Cuba trades freely with many nations. Likewise Gaza seems to have an open access to the Mediterranean does it not?
16 posted on 02/24/2008 8:32:30 PM PST by theBuckwheat
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To: ricks_place

So now they are like pigs wallowing in their own filth.


17 posted on 02/24/2008 8:40:44 PM PST by Kirkwood
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To: ricks_place
We were pleased to hear of this development as we previously had no other option but to dump our untreated sewage in water wells.

This is so insane it must be hidden somewhere in sharia law or in the koran. Methinks I'll look it up, perhaps when the long awaited Charmin edition comes out, but only if it's four ply.

18 posted on 02/24/2008 8:56:41 PM PST by Bedford Forrest (Roger, Contact, Judy, Out. Fox One. Splash one.<I>)
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To: ricks_place

Well their lucky I’m not in charge. They’d be getting plenty of rockets and napalm rather than check points. That’s a bit more uncomfortable than sewage.


19 posted on 02/24/2008 9:12:48 PM PST by utherdoul
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To: anglian

Man that is just.... an amazing response.


20 posted on 02/24/2008 10:51:31 PM PST by Walkingfeather
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