Happy New Year? - Not for Gaza

About a week after I got to Malawi it began - the craziness that is the assault on Gaza. And I just couldn't concentrate on doing what i was meant to do there.

I went to the demo on Sat despite being exhausted from the jet lag. I had to though. They're my people. Although my passport says I'm Israeli, in my heart I'm Plaestinian.

I've got a friend who's been working in Gaza and who although has a foreign passport and could have left on Friday or was it Thursday - I forget - she decided to stay.

"It's bad. Really bad." she told me. I heard a deep droning from the other end of the line and I freaked out.

"Oh Jesus! What is that?! Get off the line Hanine, go hide somewhere. Go! Go! I'll try and reach you later."

" It's fine. It's the generator." She started laughing. And then the droning became really loud suddenly and she freaked out. "Holy cow they're above us, they're above us! Shit shit! Amaal...Amaal...I don't know what to do. I don't knwo..i dont know..No..no...its ok, if they're above us then the target is further away."

My mouth is dry and I can't speak. Then I hear her say "Hamdilla - thanks be to God" and that makes me laugh. Hanine is an atheist. She realises and says "At times like these - even us atheists need to believe in a higher being!"

She reads to me a flyer that she found on the ground while going out for a breather in the early morning. It attempts to recruit Palestinians, inviting them to call or email the Israeli army if they know the location of rocket launching sites. There's picture of one on EI, the link: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10114.shtml

Enough. Enough already. Lets hope that this year hasn't begun like its meant to continue...especially for Ghazeh.