Transcrição completa da entrevista a Matthew
McGarry, responsável da Catholic Relief Services na Palestina, sobre a situação
em Gaza.
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ler a reportagem aqui.
How often are you in contact with
your team in Gaza?
It
depends on power, the power situation has been quite bad the last few days, but
generally I am able to touch base 2 or 3 times a day, via phone call or SMS.
How would you describe the situation
in Gaza at the moment?
It’s
truly horrible and really getting worse. Gaza is a difficult place in what
passes for normal circumstances, but with the escalation over the last three
weeks, with the damage to the power plant, the sheer number of people displaced,
its truly becoming completely unsustainable, potentially catastrophic
situation.
Catholic Relief Services work with
the whole population, correct?
That's
correct. We've had an office in Gaza for over 30 years at this point, we have a
network of partner organizations, we coordinate our work with the local church
and work with a variety of partners but we are a needs based organization, that
works based on needs not creed.
Has Hamas's rise to power made your
work more difficult?
There
are certain constraints. Being a US organization, obviously the blockade of
Gaza since 2007 has created a lot of difficulties in economic activity and
movement of goods. We are able to coordinate our activities through the UN
Cluster System, through our connections with local partner organizations, our
relationship with the church and our extremely talented hard working staff.
There was news that the only Latin
Catholic Parish in Gaza had been hit by shelling. Can you confirm that?
I
can't confirm that, I would refer you to the Latin Patriarchate. We are in
contact with them, but I would not want to speak on their behalf.
The local priest says the Hamas
militants fire rockets from nearby and hide in the alleys. The idea that we get
overseas is that seems to be how Hamas works, they fire from civilian areas and
then those areas get hit by Israeli shelling. Do you see any solution for this
situation at the moment? Any way to avoid more civilian deaths?
As
an agency, from the start of this most recent escalation we have been calling
for an unconditional cease-fire. As an organization, our staff are affected
directly by this conflict, we are calling on all parties to unilaterally
cease-fire and to resume negotiations for a sustainable solution to the
blockade of Gaza. Gaza is in a completely unnatural, unsustainable position.
The status quo in Gaza is not acceptable, so we call on everyone to cease the
current escalation which has resulted in so much suffering and loss of life in
Gaza and to find a sustainable long-lasting solution which allows the people of
Gaza the freedom and dignity to which they are entitled.
Your staff in Gaza, are they mainly
Christians?
We
hire people based on ability, we don't screen based on gender, age or religious
belief. Our staff has been affected by the conflict. We have one staff person
who lost several family members in an airstrike, we have several staff who have
had to flee their homes and move in with relatives because of damage to their
homes or airstrikes nearby. We had one woman who was an intern in a programme
we were running for job placement for the hearing impaired, who was killed at
her home. So this is a conflict which touches everybody in Gaza.
Have you been able to get into Gaza
since the conflict started?
Not
since it started, no. We have one international staff person, an American, who
is based there full time and she came out about 3 weeks ago when the fighting
really intensified. For much of the last three weeks her office has been closed
and staff have been working from their homes, or moving around as they are
able, but the freedom of movement we need to carry out our activities just
hasn't been safe.
We
have used a few of the cease-fires to carry out distributions, we actually have
one running this afternoon, but I would be more of a burden on staff, because
they would have to waste their time making sure I was ok, rather than taking
care of their families or doing their jobs.
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| Um centro dirigido pela CRS, na Palestina |
You mentioned distribution... there
has to be something to distribute... has it been easy to get assistance in, or
are you working with stocks you already had?
We
have been able to procure some items locally that were imported through
legitimate channels via commercial vendors. We are in the process of procuring
additional items which may need to be imported from the West Bank, we've had a
great deal of support from our donors, USAID is facilitating the shipment of
goods, so it’s been possible. Right now our distribution is focused on hygiene
kits, kitchens, coking sets and water storage kits. We've covered 300 families
so far, we are planning on another 200 or so today and scaling up to an
additional 2500 families over the next 10 to 15 days, depending on security.
The images coming from Gaza show a
people who are obviously very badly affected by what is going on, but their
spirit seems to be set on resisting. Does this include the Christian
population? Do they feel the same as their Muslim neighbours in this situation?
I
wouldn't speak for somebody who has lived their entire life in Gaza. I visit
every few weeks, but it is a very superficial exposure, I am able to come and
go as I please with my US Passport.
The
Christian community is very much a part of Gaza. Many of the families trace
their history back generation after generation, there has been a Christian
presence in and around Gaza for thousands of years. They are a small minority,
but they are woven into the fabric of Gaza and they are Palestinians, they are
Gazans. An errant tank shell, mortar or rocket does not discriminate between
Muslims, Christians or Atheists. The Christian community has had its own losses
and fatalities, roughly proportional to their representation in the larger
community and are very determined to riding out the current conflict in a
prayerful, hopeful way, and rebuilding a more sustainable, just future for Gaza
as a whole.
