Gaza Blog: Trying to cross
“Ashraf”, a young Palestinian living in The Gaza Strip, has been trying to leave through Rafah’s cross point for almost two years in order to study abroad. There are thousands of young people who were not able to study at the Palestinian universities, and they too they too wanted to leave The Gaza Strip, but it has become hard.
Ashraf keeps following the News about the opening of the cross point along with his friends, through local radios, the Internet, and also through mobile phones via SMS. Each time the cross point opens its doors, Ashraf packs his bags and says goodbye to his family and his sister Farah. But unfortunately, Ashraf comes back late at night to his family's home, his feet swollen from the intensity of the waiting.
A few days ago, when the cross point opens for the travelers, Ashraf packed his bag in a hurry, he said farewell to his family, Farah cried tears of joy again and said a warm farewell. When he arrived at the place where the buses takes the travelers to the other side of the border in, he boarded his assigned bus among the group of passengers. His bus was not one that left that day and he returned.
He left early the next day, and at the end of the day and after a long wait; the buses moved slowly toward the cross point’s of the Palestinian side gate. At the Egyptian side, in a crowded room; you will see people who have been fortunate enough to make it through the gate of the Palestinian side. Ashraf was lucky this time, he was able to leave Gaza Strip. He wants to live and study at the university, but his friends were not so lucky, and returned to where they came from. They are haunted by uncertainty and hope that another opportunity will come.
The cross point closes its gates again, and hope is still in the minds of people. In the meantime, Ashraf's sister, Farah, mourns as she will not see her brother for a long time. She now suffers from short of breath, and that’s how residents of Gaza are living today.
Read more Gaza blogs:
The Village Director and his daily worries
How Farah lived her days during the war
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