ZIAD IN GAZA

For over three months, the main means of transportation has been by animals or on foot. There are few cars on the streets. In addition to the fact that movement became very difficult due to the huge number of people in the streets, fuel is very expensive.

To take a taxi has become a unique experience: I couldn’t believe that I was in a car. Today, I asked the driver about what he uses for fuel. He told me there are two options these days. The first is using gas canisters; and the other option is a mixture of fuel and cooking olive oil. The drivers would mix three litres of cooking olive oil with one litre of fuel.

“Filling a gas canister is very difficult, but what is the canister for if I don’t have food to cook with it?” the driver, who has been displaced with his family for almost four months, told me. “All our money is gone. If you had little money on you at the beginning, it is gone now. At least, I can provide a few things to my family with the money I get from the car.”

I asked him whether the two alternatives are safe. He said: “Neither is safe nor good for the car. They ruin the motor. But what other option do we have? All we want is to survive, and after this is over, I can deal with the car issues.”

It goes without saying that the prices to travel by car are expensive, and you would take four to five times the required time, due to the heavily crowded streets.