Anyone who asks how anybody could possibly hate America should read this article about the imminent collapse of the economy in Gaza. Not that it's our fault -- it's not -- but perception is everything, and millions of people will see the videos and the pictures and blame the U.S. The current situation is ugly, and it's likely to get worse. Malnutrition, civil strife, and increasingly angry citizens are all worrisome indicators, politically and morally. The problems inherent in lack of electricity (since Israel bombed the only power plant, Gaza gets between 7 and 12 hours of power a day, at unpredictable times) include shutdown of any modern commerce, inability to keep food from spoiling, and, worst, lack of running water, which depends on electric pumps.
Palestinian leadership certainly deserves some blame for the current disaster, as the article indicates:
Hamas promised security in its victorious election campaign. But it has failed at that, said Hamdi Shaqqura of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. "There is security chaos and no respect for law," he said, and a prime reason is the involvement of the police and security forces, many of them from Fatah, in the lawlessness, and the constant clashes with militia and gunmen affiliated with Hamas. "People who are supposed to protect the law are the people who break it," he said, "and no one is brought to justice." For this chaos, he said, "I must blame the Palestinian Authority," not Israel.I'm sure, however, that this isn't the majority opinion. After all, the U.S. trumpeted democracy, practically calling it the cure for all ills in the Middle East. So Palestinians went to the polls and elected a political party that they felt best represented their concerns, rejecting the corruption of the Fatah party and going with the one that provided goods and services, as well as a sense of pride: Hamas. Hamas, of course, happens to be a terrorist group, which the West (rightly) dislikes, though the will of the people was indisputable. As a result, however, the international aid Gaza depended on was cut off.
It is difficult to exaggerate the economic collapse of Gaza, with the Palestinian Authority cut off from funds by Israel, the United States and the European Union after Hamas won the legislative elections on Jan. 25. Since then, the authority has paid most of its 73,000 employees here, nearly 40 percent of Gaza’s work force, only 1.5 months’ salary, resulting in a severe economic depression and growing signs of malnutrition, especially among the poorest children.Unemployment is reportedly nearing 50%, which means you have lots and lots of Palestinians with nothing to do all day, leaving plenty of time to contemplate ways to avenge their situation. Having thousands of people without jobs, without hope, and without something to occupy their time and energy is a recipe for disaster, and in this age of globalization, the results of that disaster, as we've seen repeatedly, aren't likely to stay localized. One of the greatest motivations for human action is humiliation. If you want to make an enemy for life, all you have to do is humiliate someone, and the themes of humiliation and impotence are hugely influential in Arabic literature and thought.
His son Muhammad is a Palestinian Authority policeman who is supposed to make $340 a month, but who has been paid only $500 since Feb. 1. Now, Fatma says, "he spends little time at home, because he hasn’t a shekel in his pocket, and he’s ashamed."The one percent doctrine shouldn't be that we attack a country if there's a one percent chance they could harm us, it should be that we try to alleviate the conditions that cause shame and humiliation and despair because -- aside from vaild humanitarian considerations -- there's a one percent chance it might keep someone from becoming a terrorist down the road (literally and figuratively).
But the Bush administration can't even put together a consistent policy when it comes to this stuff. We're for elections, except when we're not. We're for human rights, except when we're not. We're for democracy, except when we're not. A little bit of diplomacy, a little bit of aid, and a little bit of hope would go a long way in Gaza. As it is now, we're helping cultivate the next generation of Middle East conflict.
