In Gaza poverty is common. There is a demand for basic goods but they are in very short supply. Israel has placed blockades around the borders Gaza shares with other countries. So one of the best ways to get supplies into Gaza is through tunnels and there are an estimated 1,500.
In order to pull themselves out of poverty the Palestinians were encouraged to invest in the tunnels. Investors believed that these tunnels would help them out of poverty and smuggle in necessary goods. One town that has lots of these tunnels is Rafah which shares a border with Egypt.
There are lots of tunnels but Israelis end up bombing many of them so there are always tunnels under construction. There is a lot of money to be made from operating a tunnel. Two swindlers gathered money from Palestinians in order to build a tunnel and disappeared with anywhere from $100 million to $500 million. The money is gone and there is no tunnel.
Hamas the government in Palestine is trying to get the money back and has two suspects in custody but so far no money has been recovered. It's not just investors that are losing out on the tunnels but also workers. One worker didn't get paid for three months work and doesn't think he'll ever get compensation.
Tunnels may be money makers and lifelines to the people in Gaza but they are also very dangerous. With Israel dropping bombs on the tunnels and a constant threat of cave-ins, tunnel runners are always in danger. These tunnels provide not only money and goods to Palestinians but they come with a price. One father said "I want to go to the park at the end of the day, not go looking for my son inside a tunnel digging for a living and finding him dead inside the tunnel."
There are literally hundreds of underground tunnels that connect Egypt to Rafah and thousands of Palestinians working smuggling goods. Israel claims that it's necessary to stop these tunnels because weapons are being smuggled in, which may be true but the blockades are keeping Palestinians below the poverty line.
The chief reason that poverty is so rampant is the fact that unemployment in Gaza is up to 80 percent and many are forced to work in the tunnels. Even children run away to work in these tunnels and are quickly hired because many of the tunnels are only 4 feet tall inside. Children are also recruited to dig the tunnels and many are injured or killed when the tunnel collapses with them inside. One child reported to earn $100 a day in a tunnel.
Money is hard for these children to resist because they come from such disadvantaged backgrounds. The money is what drives this business and many children get caught up in it. Just this year alone over 59 Palestinians died in the tunnels, including children.
Tags: Gaza and tunnels, Palestinian tunnels, palestinians and israelis, poverty and smuggling, smuggling goods, tunnels to Gaza
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