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Feature: Palestinians celebrate Valentine amid dim atmosphere
GAZA, Feb 14, 2012 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
by Ahmad Fayoomi, Maysaa Bsharat
Ritta Isaq, a 27-year-old television
reporter living in the blockaded Gaza Strip, did not enjoy this
Valentine's Day as she was unable to meet her fiance, a
Palestinian living in Israel, due to restrictions imposed on the
coastal enclave.
The separated couple celebrated the day by only talking on the
phone and the Internet, without exchanging gifts as lovers all
over the world usually do on the romantic day. "The day turned
ordinary as long as I'm not with (my fiance) Taher," said Ritta.
"I spent the whole day on the social website of Facebook
chatting with my fiance," Ritta said, "Since I met Taher, my
fiance, meeting him and spending a good time with him, mainly on
Valentine's Day, is really a dream for us. The Israeli siege
deprived me from giving my lover a red rose."
Taher first met Ritta on the Internet and then decided to go to
Gaza to see her personally. One year ago, after travelling to
Jordan, flying to Egypt and crossing into Gaza through an
underground tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt borders, the young man
finally met Ritta's family and got engaged with her.
However, Ritta has been unable to meet Taher's family because
her applications for permission to visit Israel have been
repeatedly denied.
Ritta and Taher are planning a meeting in Cairo soon to
introduce their families to each other. But this can not be a real
solution because it is still difficult for them to reunite and get
married.
The Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, imposed right after
Islamic Hamas movement seized control of the enclave in June 2007,
has affected not only the couple, but almost all the aspects of
life in the enclave. Being cumbered by the blockade, Gaza's
economy has been deteriorating, bringing a dim atmosphere even for
the Valentine's Day.
Owners of flower and gift shops in the Gaza Strip said they did
not have very good business on this Valentine's Day due to the
deterioration of economic situation after nearly five years of
tight blockade.
Mohamed al-Khaldi, a flower shop owner in Gaza City, said that
the economic depression has been influencing the business in Gaza.
"Even on Valentine's Day, the market of flowers hasn't flourished
this year due to the economic situation in Gaza," he said.
Streets and flower stores in the Gaza Strip were barely
ornamented for the Valentine's Day as Hamas, which rules the
enclave, has refused to recognize the day and called on people in
the area not to celebrate this Western festival.
Al-Khaldi said he sold a limited amount of carnations and roses
during the whole day, and few of the flowers grown in the Gaza
Strip can be exported due to the blockade.
However, Mohamed Iqtief, a 22-year-old man living in Gaza,
refused to follow the calls by Hamas. "The Valentine's Day is a
symbolic day that each person expresses his deep love to his
lover, " the young man said as he was entering one of the flower
stores in downtown Gaza City to buy roses for his fiance.
In the West Bank city of Nablus, things were not quite
different from Gaza. "This year is the worst compared with the
previous years," Ahmed al-Madfa, a flower store owner in the city,
told Xinhua as he was decorating his shop with red carpet and
banners.
The prices of roses and gifts were not so high, he said, but "
the bad income of the people has been reflected on our business
and most of the customers come only to watch and have a look. Most
of them don't purchase."
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