As our nation moved into Thanksgiving weekend and prepared for the onslaught of Christmas shopping, many parts of the world faced inexpressible horrors. The attacks in Mumbai are well-known. There were other tragic situations that garnered limited news coverage, such as the floods and mudslides in Brazil killing scores, the political unrest in Bangkok, the discovery of a killing field in Eastern Congo containing hundreds of bodies, and the religious attaks in Jos, Nigeria, but, at least, there was some coverage of these events so the world could be aware.

Over the last 8 months, I have read a blog written by a young person in Gaza as she has detailed the continuing deterioration of life there. On November 22, she sent her last post. I feel it is noteworthy because the residents of Gaza seem to be a forgotten pawn in the geo-political maneuverings of the world's governments.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

My Final Post
You do not know when you lose a perfectly bad situation until it becomes worse. Any sense whatsoever in this sentence? Actually I do not know what's been holding me back from writing. I had all these ideas buzzing in my ears at night but articulating them was for some reason difficult.

The situation in Gaza, which was absolutely horrible, started to deteriorate day by day until we found ourselves again with no electricity , no clean water, no bread and a huge overwhelming fear of what's coming next.

First the Palestinian dialogue between Hamas and Fateh failed (as had been expected). And then the cease fire became history and a full closure was imposed, limiting fuel and food supplies to the Strip –and all that was accompanied by the Egyptian authorities strictly preventing the tunnel trade.

And what shall I say? I will not speak of my daily misery having to put up in Friday with a 24 hour power cut; nor will I like to mention my father standing in a long queue in front of the bakery at 7 a.m. to buy some bread; nor will I mention the 3 empty gas cylinders awaiting to be filled since a month; nor will I lament the patients living on respiratory support or kidney washing machines and are afraid the hospitals will have no electricity; I find it enough to say that all those I meet, including myself and my family, are psychologically and emotionally tired.

Since I do realize that writing about it is not actually contributing to changing any of it at the decision making level (I am perfectly aware that millions do have interest in our crisis and sympathize with us), I decided -in my blog second birthday- to end this beautiful fulfilling experience. I did consider contemplating as my baby but I can't nurture it anymore. I am no longer convinced that I should. Blogging worked out for me just fine for the last two years. It absolutely filled a void. Many of my posts were popular and well-read. However, I think I need to stop right here. I would like to thank heartily all those who read it and took the initiative to send supportive comments. Pray for Gaza.

May we all remember them and pray for them