‘We will not give up’: Palestinians in Gaza rebuild from scratch Business and Economic News

Gaza City – Years of hard work, sweat and effort Mohammed Abu Matar joined the 3D printing company, Tashkeel 3D.

It was the only facility capable of manufacturing basic medical supplies throughout the Gaza Strip, such as stethoscopes and tourniquets, items that were needed by Gaza hospitals but difficult to obtain due to the 14-year-old Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

Israel has banned many materials and supplies from entering the Gaza Strip over the years because they are classified as “dual-use,” making it a way to avoid Abu Matar’s 3D printing blockade. print key and save items at low cost.

On May 18, at 6 a.m., Israeli airstrikes leveled the building that houses his lab, a tragedy for Abu Matar and his trio.

“When I heard the news, all the memories of that place came to my eyes like a movie. It was my childhood dream, ”Abu Matar, 35, told Al Jazeera.

“Israel does not allow sophisticated printers or machines to enter the Strip, so we had to start from scratch and build those capabilities on our own. That included materials, machines, destroyed research.”

Unable to import, Abu Matar and his team built the first 3D printer in Gaza in 2014 by assembling spare parts themselves and following open source designs online.

CNC processing machines and 3D scanners that were not available until then were installed in Gaza.

Since 2017, Abu Matar has estimated that they have put in more than $ 150,000 in resources, but it’s certainly not money.

“It cost us a lot of research and brain work. It’s invaluable, ”Abu Matar said.

Abu Matar and his team had contracts with several clinics and NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which were based on 3D-printed medical devices.

“It means the world to me when I know that my technologies and projects help the patients of Gaza,” he said.

Remains of Abu Matar’s laboratory can be seen in Gaza City [Courtesy: Mohammed Abu Matar]

A fragile ceasefire has been taken In Gaza, early Friday, since the worst military attack in years on the list, at least 248 Palestinians, including 66 children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes.

Many of the commercial and innovative sites targeted by Israeli forces during the 11-day bombing were invaluable resources for the blocked enclave. Israeli forces also destroyed Abu Matar’s father-in-law’s bookstore, and rare books were stored nowhere else in Gaza, Abu Matar said.

‘Start from scratch’

In the Gaza Strip, where the industrial estate is located, there were 18 factories targeted by Israeli airstrikes, according to Bajes El Dalou, director of his investment department.

El Dalou told Al Jazeera that ten of the factories were destroyed and eight were severely damaged, affecting 200 workers who are now out of work.

“It simply came to our notice then [for Israeli air attacks to target factories] rather than breaking our will and destroying us. That’s something we’re used to, ”El Dalou said.

When Nihad al-Sawafiri learned that his furniture business had been destroyed on May 17 in an industrial area near the al-Muntar border crossing – known to the Israelis as Karni – it was like a “suddenly gone dream,” he said.

Before starting his own business, he sought the safest location in Gaza for his business.

A Palestinian business association reported that there were treaties and international agreements that secured eastern Gaza, securing it as a site free of business from Israeli attacks, Al-Sawafi told Al Jazeera.

“But they attacked anyway and I lost the business. Imagine that you work hard for 30 years and you lose overnight. It’s a disaster, ”al-Sawafi said.

“I don’t know how long it will take me to rebuild the business, but at least if things go well and the money to rebuild returns to Gaza, I will need six months to start again from scratch.

“Money and business can be compensated, but human life can’t, so I’m glad we survived this war.”

A Palestinian woman cooks while a Israeli cook sits on the rubble of houses destroyed in Gaza [Mohammed Salem/Reuters]

‘Everything is gone’

Mohammed Fora, 28, was the owner of an eastern barber shop in Shejaiya, Gaza City, which destroyed Israeli fighter jets on May 16.

Forak and his brother started the business to help family members, including a brother with a physical disability and in need of constant treatment.

“Now, everything is gone,” Forak told Al Jazeera.

It will have to be rebuilt from scratch, but it cost $ 15,000 10 years ago, and it was a difficult process.

“I will be waiting to be compensated by the Gaza reconstruction commission, but it often takes months, if not a few years. Right now, my brother and I are looking for different manual jobs like reconstruction workers. We have to move on, otherwise we can’t survive,” he said. du Forak.

“We don’t want anyone to make us feel sad, but at least let us live. Leave me alone. I’m disappointed [the international community]. It’s just lip service. If they cared enough, they would [something] a long time ago “.

He stated that when his Israeli airstrikes struck the nearby cemetery, his barbecue shop was destroyed. “Why would you correct the dead? It’s ironic that even the dead don’t feel comfortable, ”Forak said.

Abu Matar is grateful that he and his loved ones survived the attacks.

“In this war, no one expected to survive,” he said. “Losing my business – my team and I have put so much effort and resources into it – was a great disaster, but human life is absolutely precious.”

A crowdfunding page it can help make his lab work again. Within 36 hours, donors had allocated about $ 27,000, more than half of the target number.

“We were all saddened by the news [when we heard it was destroyed], but we also understand that the seeds of our company have been challenged and challenged by this occupation, and we will do an extra mile to rebuild what Israel has destroyed, ”Abu Matar said.

“My message is one of hope and challenge. We will not give up. We will continue and rebuild our business. Gaza is challenging and making the impossible possible. We will do it “.