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April 8th, 2022 
Awake Goy Every year, millions of Palestinians anxiously await the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, a beloved and cherished month by Muslims around the world.
In Gaza, the Ramadan atmosphere and traditions bring about a reawakening of social relations between communities and neighbors, who have spent the past year going about their lives. For Gaza’s poor, the month brings promises of sustenance, as they receive increased charity and aid during the month.
People welcome the cherished month by decorating the streets and their houses with brightly colored lights. Merchants bring out their special Ramadan fare, including seasonal vegetables like watercress, carob juice, and assortments of pickled vegetables.
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After iftaar, children fill up the streets with laughter as they play with firecrackers, while the sound of the mosque loudspeakers blast through each neighborhood.
And while many people find great joy in this month, the sweetness of Ramadan in Gaza is often soured by the effects of the Israeli siege on Gaza, which is inevitably felt every day, even during Ramadan.
Since 2007, Israel has imposed a land, air, and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip, largely banning trade, exports, imports, and the movement of the more than 2 million Palestinians living within its borders.
The siege, alongside four devastating wars during these years, has significantly changed the fabric of life in Gaza. With more than half of the population living below the poverty line, life in Gaza has changed dramatically over the past 15 year, and alongside it, the way that Palestinians in Gaza celebrate Ramadan.
Higher unemployment rates, higher prices
2022 will mark 15 years since Israel imposed the siege. When asked why their Ramadan traditions have changed so greatly over the years, most Gazans will inevitably point to the blockade.
“Most of the old habits are disappearing due to our economic situation,” Fadi Saleh, 79, told Mondoweiss. “People in Gaza used to give each other food in Ramadan, they used to know each other and support the ones who are in need, but now everyone is in need in Gaza.”
“Every year I invite my sons and their families for iftaar, my daughter and their families, and my sisters and brothers,” Saleh said, adding that he used to invite over 40 people over for dinner every year for Ramadan.
“I love to have them all around the table for iftaar, but that’s not possible anymore.”
Before the siege, inviting over people for iftaar, a Ramadan custom for many Muslim communities across the globe, “used to cost nothing,” for Saleh. But with rising inflation in Gaza, most Palestinians in the strip can’t afford to keep up.
“I can’t do anything but wait for the price to return to its normal,” Saleh said. “We want to be happy, we wait all year for this month, but we feel helpless because we can’t afford it.”
Osama Sabbah, 44, a former cloth trader who lost his job due to the siege, has found that in recent years he has stopped his usual visits to relatives’ houses during Ramadan. He says it’s “unacceptable to show up empty handed,” so he finds himself alone much of the time.
“I used to visit every one of my seven sisters, and take with me groceries and gifts for the kids, and put a smile on everyone’s faces,” Sabbah remembered, sitting .
“We were working, inside Gaza and outside, earning our livelihoods with honor and dignity. But the siege took away our dignity and caused us to lose our jobs,” he continued.
Gifts aside, Sabbah said he can’t even afford the trip to go visit his sisters. “If I visit every one of the seven, I need at least 100 Shekels for every visit. 700 shekels is more than my income during the whole month.”
Blockade threatens to extinguish beloved traditions
The family gathering at the Iftar table, the visits, food exchanges between neighbors, charity, neighborhood decorations, and crowded streets with people buying specialty goods and sweets: these are all the habits that are slowly fading in Gaza due to the siege.
At a time when people used to rejoice, and spend time with family, neighbors, and friends, most Gazans are left worrying about how to put food on the table.
“I wish I could bring happiness to my home and my family, I wish I could bring some good food to my children, and I wish I could invite all my sisters for iftaar at least once this year, but how could I when I’m suffering to just feed my family?” Sabbah asked.
“Before the siege, we used to enjoy every event in our lives, and we used to fulfill all the traditions of our culture,” he continued. “We ourselves would go and help the needy. Fifteen, 20 years ago, there were no that many poor people in Gaza.”
Now, Sabbah said, like most Gazans, he and his family have become the needy ones. “It is the siege that put us in this situation,” he said.
“We used to be great people in Gaza, with riches, businesses, and exports to the entire world. Now, the siege has turned us into a people that have nothing to do in our lives, except looking for food for our families.”
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