Trade not Aid | Gaza's Ark

Tag Archives: Trade not Aid

May 1, 2013 Statements & Releases, Trade not Aid

How is Gaza’s Ark not an aid project?

A number of Palestinian civil society organizations have said very clearly: they do not want to depend on humanitarian aid; they need their freedom to live in dignity. The economy of Gaza has been very prosperous in the past; it can be again in the future. To get there, the entire humanitarian “aid” in the world will be insufficient without the political will to end the blockade.

The economic contribution of a boat with 40 cubic meters of goods is necessarily symbolic: the important thing is the political gesture to assert the Palestinians’ right to freedom of movement and economic sovereignty. Our slogan is not so much against aid as it is also for (fair) trade, and more broadly, in favor of economic sovereignty.

April 2, 2013 In the media, Trade not Aid

IOA closes Gaza sole commercial crossing for 4th day running

[ 01/04/2013 - 09:48 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)– The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) continued to close on Monday the sole Gaza commercial crossing of Karm Abu Salem for the fourth day running.

Raed Fattuh, in charge of coordinating entry of goods into the Strip, said that the IOA informed his department with closure of the crossing on Sunday and Monday while it closes it on Friday and Saturday every week.

The IOA had closed Karm Abu Salem for 17 days in March for Jewish feasts and for security pretexts.

The closure affects the life of one million and seven hundred thousand Palestinian inhabitants of the coastal enclave and leads to shortages in basic supplies in addition to fuel, gas, and constructions materials. It also affects quantity of aid delivered by UNRWA to more than a million Palestinians.

Source

March 28, 2013 In the media, Trade not Aid

“Trade not aid” focus of new attempt to break Gaza blockade

Eva Bartlett

The Electronic Intifada

Gaza City

27 March 2013

Israel continues to violate a ceasefire agreement signed in November which expanded the fishing limit off Gaza’s shores.

(Ezz Al-Zanoon / APA images)

GAZA CITY (IPS) – “An ark is literally a large floating vessel designed to keep its passengers and cargo safe,” according to the group preparing Gaza’s Ark. But its is “a vessel that embodies hope that the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip can soon live in peace without the threat of the Israeli blockade.”

March 27, 2013 From Gaza, In the media, Trade not Aid

Now Gaza’s Ark Prepares to Dare Israel

By Eva Bartlett

Palestinian fishers are hit hard by the Israeli blockade on Gaza. Credit: Emad Badwan/IPS.

IPS News

Palestinian fishers are hit hard by the Israeli blockade on Gaza. Credit: Emad Badwan/IPS.

GAZA CITY, Mar 27 2013 (IPS) – “An ark is literally a large floating vessel designed to keep its passengers and cargo safe,” say the group preparing ‘Gaza’s Ark’. But their ark, they say, is “a vessel that embodies hope that the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip can soon live in peace without the threat of the Israeli blockade.”

An initiative by Palestinians in Gaza and international solidarity activists, Gaza’s Ark entails “purchasing a run-down boat from a local fishing family,” says Michael Coleman, a member of Free Gaza Australia and on the Gaza’s Ark steering committee.

March 27, 2013 From Gaza, In the media, Trade not Aid

Gaza’s Ark: Trade, Not Aid

Posted on March 27, 2013

PALESTINIAN FISHERS ARE HIT HARD BY THE ISRAELI BLOCKADE ON GAZA. CREDIT: EMAD BADWAN/IPS.

First Published at IPS – By Eva Bartlett

March 13, 2013 Statements & Releases, Trade not Aid

Buy into Hope

Buy into Hope: Purchasing Palestinian exports through Gaza’s Ark

Gaza's Ark is pleased to announce our first release of Palestinian products that will be available for purchase through our community-based export initiative. The eight products in our first release are from two Gaza based producers: Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children, and Al-Ahlyia Association for the Development of Palms and Dates.

Atfaluna offers us some amazing traditional Palestinian arts and craft products, while Al-Ahlyia provides Palestinian Ajwa (pressed dried dates) and Makhtom (delicious date and nut preserves).

March 13, 2013 Trade not Aid

Fair trade helps Palestinian farmers stay on their land

Emily Lawrence

The Electronic Intifada

United Kingdom

11 March 2013

130311-palestinian-olives.jpg

Palestinian goods are slowly starting to gain access to global markets.

(Majdi Fathi / APA images)

There are many varieties of olive oil available to the British shopper at the local supermarket, but one stands out from the rest. It’s not just the fair trade symbol that marks it as distinctive; it’s also the rarely seen description on its label: “Produced and Bottled in Palestine.”

February 20, 2013 In the media, Trade not Aid

Gaza minister: Egypt tunnel crackdown will fail

Published 20-02-2013

A Palestinian works inside a smuggling tunnel flooded by Egyptian
forces, beneath the Egyptian-Gaza border in Rafah, in southern Gaza,
Feb. 19. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) — Egypt's crackdown on smuggling tunnels to the Gaza Strip will not succeed unless alternatives to importing produce are provided, an official in Gaza's Hamas-run government said Wednesday.

Several days ago, Egyptian forces began flooding smuggling tunnels under the Gaza border in a campaign to shut them down. The tunnels have provided a lifeline to Palestinians since Israel intensified its blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

February 15, 2013 From Gaza, In the media, Trade not Aid

VIDEO: Poverty rising in Gaza because of Israeli blockade

http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/video-poverty-rising-in-gaza-because-of-israeli-blockade/

February 8, 2013 Statements & Releases, Trade not Aid

It’s about Trade not Aid

February 7, 2013

Dear friends and supporters of Gaza’s Ark;

Gaza’s Ark is a project, which will rebuild a boat in Gaza, with Palestinian hands, that will carry Palestinian products out to the world. The main goal of Gaza’s Ark, with the support of people like you, is to challenge Israel’s illegal and unjust blockade of Gaza.

The blockade is having tragic consequences on all aspects of life in Gaza. Those whose livelihood depends on manufacturing have seen their ability to produce decline as a result of lack of raw materials that cannot be easily imported. At the same time they cannot export whatever they produce. This creates a dependence on foreign aid.

Palestinians need trade not aid. This is their call.