Gaza: Gazans have embraced fuel and electricity shortage by making the most out of the sad situation, instead of complaining about their dire situation.
"Today is mother's day and my daughters gave me a flashlight as a gift," Reem, a housewife, told Gulf News.
"The gift was funny but useful actually. I never thought I would be so happy to receive a flashlight as a gift," she said. Gazans survive on only 6 hours of electricity and barely any fuel at all as they have lived for five years now under an illegal Israeli siege.
"If we look on the bright side of the situation, without computers and television the family spends more quality time together. We have become so close," she said.
It seems most Gazans have adopted this approach to life--adapting more each day to the prolonged crisis. Mohammad, a taxi driver, says he spends most of his working hours searching for fuel, standing in long queues --losing half of his earnings by wasting time. If he doesn't find fuel, Mohammad uses cooking oil as a last resort.
"Gazans have not only accepted their situation. They are making the best out of it," Waleed Shbair, a lecturer at the Islamic University of Gaza said. According to the ministry of Power and natural resources, the Gaza Strip requires around 40 to 45 million liters of fuel per month where 15 million liters is needed specifically for electricity needs. The Gaza Strip is facing up to 18-hours of blackouts per day ever since Egypt cut the fuel supplies through the underground tunnel network.
