Daily Alert Archives

Six Hours in Gaza

(Jackson School of International Studies-University of Washington) Joel S. Migdal - My first impression of the old city of Gaza was, unexpectedly, that it looked nothing like India. I had expected the wrenching poverty that I had seen in some Indian cities or many other Third World countries - collapsing infrastructure, rickety shacks, a surfeit of beggars, children in rags, adults sleeping on the sidewalks. None of that was visible. Instead, I saw hordes of children going to school, university students walking in and out of two universities - both the children and the university students reasonably dressed. There were cranes and construction workers everywhere, with lots of uncompleted buildings being worked on. There was the occasional bombed out building from the 2014 War. But most buildings were in decent shape, and some apartment buildings were downright nice. Most of the cars looked like late-model varieties. In conversation after conversation, there was no obsessing about Israel, which I found interesting. Indeed, there might even be a general acceptance of Israel in terms of realizing that Israel will long be part of their future. Professor Migdal, founding chair of the University of Washington International Studies Program, visited Gaza in winter 2016.
2016-03-17 00:00:00
Full Article