The strawberry harvest season in Gaza is bittersweet. This is a time of community, beauty, and hope, of family and friends coming together, and helping each other. In the process of doing so, they become part and parcel of a breathtaking visual landscape, where Gaza, despite its many hurts, is still able to create something beautiful and to share it with the rest of the world.
But Gaza is not always able to share its resources, be it strawberries, citrus, or the talents of its own people, with the world, as the Israeli siege, a 14-year blockade, has made it impossible for Gaza to operate as a normal economic entity.
Gaza’s farmers are now waiting for the prolonged period of negotiations, hoping to acquire the needed paperwork from the Israeli occupation to export Gaza’s strawberry harvest. This year, the task is made even more complicated because of the COVID-19 restrictions in Gaza’s main European market.
Palestine Chronicle photojournalist Fawzi Mahmoud takes us on a journey to Gaza’s strawberry farms, where farmers in the town of Beit Lahia, hope that their hard work will translate to some badly needed funds.
(All Photos: Fawzi Mahmoud, The Palestine Chronicle)
(The Palestine Chronicle)
