Why European Citizens Should Not Forget Gaza

“For the people of Gaza today, the situation really is no better than it was at the end of the war,” said Robert Turner, Director of UNRWA* Operations in Gaza. The violence may have stopped, but people are still living in difficult conditions. 5,600 displaced people have been living in nine school buildings since last summer’s conflict with no place to cook, they are receiving food aid. While “the economy hasn’t improved, the politics hasn’t improved, the security hasn’t improved,” added Mr Turner.

Progress is necessary in order for Palestinians to maintain a hope for a better future in Gaza. Instead, many of them are trying to leave, adding to the increasing burden of migration in Europe and its neighbourhood. “It’s really the first time that in large numbers they’ve wanted to get out as badly as they do and it’s because they don’t believe there’s a future in Gaza,” noted Mr Turner. “We can’t expect that chaos can be allowed to be the context in [Gaza] and that people are going to just stay there. And so I think the bigger issue isn’t what do we do about people on boats. The bigger issue is what we do about trying to stop people from getting on boats.”

In the following video, Mr Turner discusses the unprecedented levels of humanitarian need in the region, what needs to be done to help Gaza’s refugees and the importance that politics plays in this. 

Mr Turner also commented on the importance of UNRWA’s relationship with the EU and its member states both financial and political: “that’s really why we continue this dialogue, why I come to Brussels and other leaders in the agency come here. It’s not just about fundraising it’s about partnership, it’s about consultation, it’s about wanting to make sure that not only is our story being told but that we’re hearing from the people here [in Brussels].”

For more information on UNRWA and how they are working with the EU you can also read the Voices & Views No Peace without Development: EU-UN Cooperation in Fragile Countries. 

*The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.