ANAS BABA, BYLINE: Ibrahim Abuhani is a professional baker with shops across Gaza, but he did not plan on making cakes during this war. He had to flee his home, like most people in Gaza, and opened his cake shop just to the people in order to charge their phones. And it was for free. There is no electricity now in Gaza, and his bakery runs on solar power. But a month ago, a man walked into the shop and asked for a cake.ABUHANI: (Speaking Arabic).BABA: The man said that his own son got injured in the war. And when he woke up from the anesthesia, he said, where is the birthday cake you promised me? The baker hesitated but agreed to take his order. As he was baking the cake, someone else walked in. He said his little daughter was scared by the war, and he wanted to throw her a little party. Little by little, Abuhani was baking again, and he was shocked by the demand for cake.
Some other anecdotes of customers begging for cakes which Abuhani claims to sell at no profit come next.
Then NPR offhandedly mentions this:
Abuhani struggles to find ingredients. Supplies are so low in Gaza, sugar and eggs cost a fortune, so he's not making a profit. He says he feels bad buying flour on the black market - flour that belongs to the United Nations to give away as aid - but he says it's worth it to see the joy in his customers' eyes.
Hold on a second.
He's buying flour that was meant to be given away for free by the UN?
Who, exactly, is selling this flour to him? Who is making the profit on the flour?
There aren't too many stories on the Gaza black market in English. Al Hurra had a detailed report in January in Arabic, where Hamas was not accused directly of stealing aid by Gazans, but it sems pretty clear that is who is referred to:
A Palestinian journalist said, in statements to Al-Hurra website on the condition that her identity not be revealed, that there is “major corruption in the distribution of humanitarian aid,” and claimed that there were “thefts of it,” without accusing any party of that.She added: "The aid is stolen immediately after entering (the Strip) or from the warehouses, by those responsible for distributing it, and not from the people."In this context, a Gazan resident in Egypt, whose family is still in the Gaza Strip, spoke to Al-Hurra website, on the condition that her identity not be disclosed in order to preserve the safety of her family, that “a lot of support does not go to those who deserve it.”She continued: "There are those who distribute aid to their relatives and do not give it to those who deserve it. Therefore, some have a surplus of support that they do not need. On the other hand, some do not have food to eat."
The black market isn't only for staples like flour, but even for necessities like tents that are being stolen!
[Another journalist said] "an Emirati tent is sold for 3,000 shekels (about 800 dollars) and a Qatari tent for 2,500 shekels (669 dollars)," noting that these tents "should go to the refugees who fled the northern Gaza Strip."In this regard, Al-Ghazia, who lives in Egypt, said: “Tents that arrive in the Gaza Strip are sold as aid, and the prices vary according to the country that sent them, and they are supposed to be bought by people who have nothing.”It is noteworthy that there are spread on social media what resemble advertisements for the sale of tents in the Gaza Strip, in which the tents are classified according to the country of origin.
The black market seems to be not only Hamas, but also gangs who are stealing the aid off of trucks. Hamas, however, wants a monopoly on the black market. Al Jazeera glowingly reports about a new Hamas-linked gang of masked, armed men called the People’s Protection Force who go to the markets, identify those who are selling goods at way above the market prices, warn them to reduce the prices, and if they refuse - Hamas confiscates the items and claims to sell them for the official market prices.
And if you believe that one, I have a pier in Gaza to sell you.
(h/t Irene)
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