RAFAH, Palestinian Territories, Oct 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Separated from the
impatient crowd by a flimsy barrier, Palestinian policemen read out names,
their voices barely audible above the din.
Those called file forward, relieved to finally be leaving the crowded and
ramshackle Gaza Strip for neighbouring Egypt, some for the first time.
Many have a single large suitcase or holdall as they sit on benches in the
gymnasium which serves as a waiting room in the southern Gazan town of Khan
Yunis.
From there, they board a bus for the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, about
20 minutes away.
Since mid-May, after five long years in which the frontier was largely
closed, Egyptian authorities have opened the crossing several days a week.
About 200 people make the trip in a day, a small number compared to the
nearly two million people crammed into Gaza.
Yet it represents one of only two routes out of the strip and the only one
not controlled by Israel.
Since Islamists Hamas seized control of the 360 square kilometre (139
square mile) territory in 2007, Israel has maintained a crippling blockade
and imposes tight restrictions on its sole people crossing.
For much of that time Egypt has opened its Rafah border only
intermittently, meaning those leaving didn’t know if and when they may be
able to return.
Mosleh Derby, 21, waits in the sunshine, watching the tea and cigarette
pedlars calling out their wares.
A medical student in Cairo, he had not been home to Gaza for three years
until June for fear of getting stuck.
Despite registering for his return journey with the Gazan authorities in
advance, Derby said he has been so delayed that he has already missed the
first two weeks of class.
Some students who paid extra fees travelled earlier, he claimed.
– Thousands waiting –
Inside the gymnasium, many travellers reluctantly admit having paid between
$1,500 and $2,000 for what they call “coordination” to travel.
Hamas interior ministry spokesman Iyad al-Bozum denied that Palestinian
border officials took payments.
“But some citizens can get in touch with officials on the Egyptian side of
the crossing and make it easier for them to leave,” he said.
Bozum said there is currently a list of thousands of Gazans waiting to exit
the strip, who are notified online when their turn comes.
Since Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was overthrown in 2013 and his
Muslim Brotherhood movement quashed, Egypt has kept its Gaza border largely
closed.
Cairo accuses Hamas, which began as an offshoot of the Brotherhood, of
supporting militants fighting its security forces in the largely uninhabited
Sinai region bordering Gaza.
Hundreds of soldiers and police have been killed.
Egypt destroyed many tunnels for smuggling under the border, exacerbating
Gaza’s isolation.
But relations between Hamas and Egypt have thawed somewhat, allowing Rafah
to be opened regularly since May.
Only students, those in need of medical treatment, Muslim pilgrims or
people with foreign citizenship or residence papers are allowed through.
The flow of travellers remains a trickle compared to the past, said
Abdallah Shahin, 32, who has been a porter at the crossing for 15 years.
Under Morsi, he said, “every day, 30 buses crossed the border, it was about
1,800 people.”
Nowadays, he says, “those who leave do not come back, they emigrate.”
– ‘No return’ –
Such is the dream of an architecture student who gives his name only as
Khalil.
He wants to go back to Germany, where he was born but never obtained
citizenship.
“One way, no return,” he said.
“Abroad it’s different… someone creative can succeed.”
Two of his friends have already left, he said, calculating the cost for
himself at more than $3,000, including at least $2,000 to get across the
Rafah border.
At the departure point the bus starts its engine to a cacophony of
farewells.
“On the Egyptian side, if all goes well, you wait for around six hours.
Otherwise you spend the night there and sleep at the border post,” said
Derby, the medical student.
The forced overnight stay is because of Sinai curfew regulations preventing
travel at night, an Egyptian border official told AFP.
The remaining trip to Cairo is a long one, because of repeated stops at
security checkpoints.
“Before 2007 I used to arrive in Cairo in six hours, now it takes at least
48 hours,” said Hosam al-Ajuri, 35, heading to complete his history studies
in Egypt.
Left behind in Khan Yunis is Aida Baraka, 52, who since June has been
waiting for permission to visit her sick niece in Jordan.
Although her name was not once of those posted online she came to try her
luck anyway.
“Where is the humanity?” she asked, her niqab revealing only her dark eyes.
She accused Egypt of not doing enough to help.
“The nearest ones to us are the Egyptians,” she said. “I want them to be
human!”