Untitled - Ipam

Welcome to Gaza!
The Gaza Strip is currently trying to recover from several recent political
conflicts and military attacks which have caused a worsening of the
general situation in the Strip. Due to the Gaza War (Operation Cast Lead,
the Israeli offensive on Gaza) that waged in December 2008/January 2009,
many people not only lost their loved ones, but also their source of income
due to the massive destruction of the area.
The ongoing closure of the crossing points, by the Israeli forces, has made
it practically impossible to create economic and social advancement in
this small but densely populated area. Thus the economical situation has
become even more critical with an unemployment rate of approximately
40 %.
The ghetto-like circumstances, under which the people in the Strip continue
to live, makes the prospect of an improvement in living conditions seem
unlikely. The educational sector is attempting to recover given that both
schools and students were badly affected during the conflicts. Schools,
universities and other educational institutions were attacked; the legacy of
which being that over 50% of children in the Strip suffer from nervousness,
hyper-activity and sleep disturbance; all behavioral and emotional
symptoms related to traumatic experiences. The UN estimates that of the
1400 people killed in the latest violence, 431 were children and of over
5300 injured, 1853 were children.
The activities of the WEF will shed light on the social and educational
conditions of civilians in the Gaza Strip who seek to raise their children
in peace, and social justice. Hopefully this forum will raise awareness
among the international activists and organizations attending and allow
these participants the space and time to create new networks and thereby
contribute to the improvement of the quality of life in the Strip.
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