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Suddenly Bombs Started Falling
We arrived inside Gaza at 5pm last night. We were met by Anees, a 23
year old Gazan. He has guided us around the community. When we first
came in tonight, kids were playing soccer in the street. We saw lots
of heavily damaged buildings, especially government buildings and homes
near border.
There was no electricity when we first arrived. Later it came on for a
while. People tell us that in some places electricity is on for 2
hours a day, other places as much as 6 hours a day.
Jan 17, 2009
We arrived inside Gaza at 5pm last night. We were met by Anees, a 23
year old Gazan. He has guided us around the community. When we first
came in tonight, kids were playing soccer in the street. We saw lots
of heavily damaged buildings, especially government buildings and homes
near border.
There was no electricity when we first arrived. Later it came on for a
while. People tell us that in some places electricity is on for 2
hours a day, other places as much as 6 hours a day.
We are spending the night in Rafah near Sea Street - about 450 meters
from border, about 1 and a half miles from the Egypt border crossing.
Also staying with us is Dr. Jim Jennings of Conscience International
who is delivering medicines. Anees told us we could not stay with his
family, because their house is near the border and that is too
dangerous. So he arranged for us to stay in the home of a friend of
his, Abed. The rest of Abed's family fled. Only Abed is here in the
home with us. People brought us food and tea. Their hospitality to us
is amazing.
Anees told us tonight that he has no longer wants to make new friends
because so many of his have died. A new friend may die tomorrow or
disappear. He knew Rachel Corrie and she was the main reason he
learned English. Others told us Anees went under fire to help Tom
Hurndall get to the hospital when he was shot by IDF snipers.
At 12:24 am, we were asleep when suddenly bombs started falling. There
were explosions about every 11 minutes. There were very loud noises
and big bursts of light and everything shook. We could not tell where
the bombs were hitting. At 1 am a helicopter flew over and all the
electricity in the neighborhood went out.
It is hard to imagine kids and families going through this night after night.
This is all we can write right now. Please work to stop the bombing.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Kathy Kelly
Kathy Kelly (Kathy.vcnv@gmail.com) is World BEYOND War’s board president and one of three rapporteurs who helped coordinate formation of the Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal.
We arrived inside Gaza at 5pm last night. We were met by Anees, a 23
year old Gazan. He has guided us around the community. When we first
came in tonight, kids were playing soccer in the street. We saw lots
of heavily damaged buildings, especially government buildings and homes
near border.
There was no electricity when we first arrived. Later it came on for a
while. People tell us that in some places electricity is on for 2
hours a day, other places as much as 6 hours a day.
We are spending the night in Rafah near Sea Street - about 450 meters
from border, about 1 and a half miles from the Egypt border crossing.
Also staying with us is Dr. Jim Jennings of Conscience International
who is delivering medicines. Anees told us we could not stay with his
family, because their house is near the border and that is too
dangerous. So he arranged for us to stay in the home of a friend of
his, Abed. The rest of Abed's family fled. Only Abed is here in the
home with us. People brought us food and tea. Their hospitality to us
is amazing.
Anees told us tonight that he has no longer wants to make new friends
because so many of his have died. A new friend may die tomorrow or
disappear. He knew Rachel Corrie and she was the main reason he
learned English. Others told us Anees went under fire to help Tom
Hurndall get to the hospital when he was shot by IDF snipers.
At 12:24 am, we were asleep when suddenly bombs started falling. There
were explosions about every 11 minutes. There were very loud noises
and big bursts of light and everything shook. We could not tell where
the bombs were hitting. At 1 am a helicopter flew over and all the
electricity in the neighborhood went out.
It is hard to imagine kids and families going through this night after night.
This is all we can write right now. Please work to stop the bombing.
Kathy Kelly
Kathy Kelly (Kathy.vcnv@gmail.com) is World BEYOND War’s board president and one of three rapporteurs who helped coordinate formation of the Merchants of Death War Crimes Tribunal.
We arrived inside Gaza at 5pm last night. We were met by Anees, a 23
year old Gazan. He has guided us around the community. When we first
came in tonight, kids were playing soccer in the street. We saw lots
of heavily damaged buildings, especially government buildings and homes
near border.
There was no electricity when we first arrived. Later it came on for a
while. People tell us that in some places electricity is on for 2
hours a day, other places as much as 6 hours a day.
We are spending the night in Rafah near Sea Street - about 450 meters
from border, about 1 and a half miles from the Egypt border crossing.
Also staying with us is Dr. Jim Jennings of Conscience International
who is delivering medicines. Anees told us we could not stay with his
family, because their house is near the border and that is too
dangerous. So he arranged for us to stay in the home of a friend of
his, Abed. The rest of Abed's family fled. Only Abed is here in the
home with us. People brought us food and tea. Their hospitality to us
is amazing.
Anees told us tonight that he has no longer wants to make new friends
because so many of his have died. A new friend may die tomorrow or
disappear. He knew Rachel Corrie and she was the main reason he
learned English. Others told us Anees went under fire to help Tom
Hurndall get to the hospital when he was shot by IDF snipers.
At 12:24 am, we were asleep when suddenly bombs started falling. There
were explosions about every 11 minutes. There were very loud noises
and big bursts of light and everything shook. We could not tell where
the bombs were hitting. At 1 am a helicopter flew over and all the
electricity in the neighborhood went out.
It is hard to imagine kids and families going through this night after night.
This is all we can write right now. Please work to stop the bombing.
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