The kitchen in Um Rateb Alalool's house in Gaza city is bustling with excitement, laughter and conversation as her family shares stories while the smell of cookies baking for Eid Al Adha fills the air.
It might look like an everyday scene of familial happiness, but to mother-of-six Um Rateb, it is a special once-in-a-decade event.
“I miss all of this atmosphere, I am really so happy that my husband took the decision to visit Gaza this Eid,” the 40-year-old told The National.
Returning home to visit had previously been too difficult for most Gazans, but now the Alalools are just one of many families reunited thanks to changes at the Rafah crossing, the enclave’s only border entry point with Egypt.
Um Rateb left Gaza for Canada in 2013 with her husband Ghassan, 48, to build a life in Vancouver with their children, who now range from nine months to 14 years old.
Restrictions at the Rafah crossing over the years have caused significant difficulties for those seeking to travel to Gaza, including the occasional closure of the border, limited working hours and limits on the number of citizens allowed to pass during any given day.
Crossing has become easier after an agreement between Gaza's Hamas government and Egypt.
“I believe there has been a change in the crossing's operation from 50 to 60 per cent, which is a good move,” political analyst Mostafa Al Sawaf said.
“As a result of the current understandings between Hamas and the Egyptian side, there are factors that have changed in terms of military barriers that travellers used to spend times waiting at, even at the entrance to Sinai.”
He said the journey time between Cairo to the Egyptian city of El Arish and on to Gaza was now a day, whereas it used to take at least two owing to check points.
The changes have prompted a growing number of Gazans living abroad to visit their families for special occasions.
“The moment I stepped foot on Gaza soil, I was flooded with a rush of emotions, ranging from happiness and relief to nostalgia and even a touch of homesickness,” Ghassan said.
Um Rateb said she was keen to return to forge a relationship between her children and their relatives.
“Taking my children and going to market is one of Eid appearances, where the market is crowded with people,” she said.
With a higher income, they are now able to help family members by sending money and bringing gifts.
Ahmed Mosabah, 37, said there is something unique about Eid in Gaza, even as people in the area suffer hardships.
“Eid in Gaza has a different taste, [during these] family gatherings,” he said. “My sisters prayed for me, which I really needed.”
Gaza now a 'different city'
Ahmed, who left Gaza in 2007 to study in Canada, came back with his wife and four children to spend Eid with his family.
He left Canada on Tuesday morning and reached Gaza on Thursday night before crossing the Rafah border.
He said in previous years, a trip to Gaza would require meticulous planning, including factoring in days extra to spend at Rafah in case of delays or closures.
“Facilities nowadays at the Rafah crossing encouraged me to come to Gaza, and I will make it again,” Ahmed said.
“A lot of things have changed in Gaza, I didn’t recognise some areas which make me feel I am in a different city. [It is] not the same one I left.”
For Huda Salem, 30, Eid family gatherings are the most important part of the celebration.
Huda, who left for Saudi Arabia 10 years ago, returned this year with her husband and children to spend Eid in Gaza.
She said: “In Gaza for Eid, there is the beach and public markets and family visits, which is really amazing.”
She said she now plans to return to Gaza during her summer break.
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
ASHES SCHEDULE
First Test
November 23-27 (The Gabba, Brisbane)
Second Test
December 2-6 (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
Third Test
December 14-18 (Waca Ground, Perth)
Fourth Test
December 26-30 (Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne)
Fifth Test
January 4-8, 2018 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)
Honeymoonish
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MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Ballon d’Or shortlists
Men
Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Sergio Aguero (Aregentina/Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Netherlans/Barcelona), Hugo Lloris (France/Tottenham), Dusan Tadic (Serbia/Ajax), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Trent Alexander-Arnold (England/Liverpool), Donny van de Beek (Netherlands/Ajax), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Arsenal), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany/Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Alisson (Brazil/Liverpool), Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Juventus), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Manchester City), Son Heung-min (South Korea/Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Roberto Firmino (Brazil/Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Manchester City), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal/Napoli), Antoine Griezmann (France/Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Eden Hazard (BEL/Real Madrid), Marquinhos (Brazil/Paris-SG), Raheem Sterling (Eengland/Manchester City), Joao Félix(Portugal/Atletico Madrid)
Women
Sam Kerr (Austria/Chelsea), Ellen White (England/Manchester City), Nilla Fischer (Sweden/Linkopings), Amandine Henry (France/Lyon), Lucy Bronze(England/Lyon), Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg), Sarah Bouhaddi (France/Lyon), Megan Rapinoe (USA/Reign FC), Lieke Martens (Netherlands/Barcelona), Sari van Veenendal (Netherlands/Atletico Madrid), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Rose Lavelle(USA/Washington Spirit), Marta (Brazil/Orlando Pride), Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Lyon), Kosovare Asllani (Sweden/CD Tacon), Sofia Jakobsson (Sweden/CD Tacon), Tobin Heath (USA/Portland Thorns)
