Janine di Giovanni is executive director at The Reckoning Project and a columnist for The National
December 05, 2024
It was a week after Christmas, early January in 1993. The war in Sarajevo was at its most cruel. There was very little food, water, electricity or heating. The temperatures plummeted to -20°C on some days. There was constant shelling and sniping onto the once-beautiful city and the terrified inhabitants.
One day I drove to an old people’s home on a frontline near the airport, where I’d been told that two or three elderly people died every day in their beds from hypothermia. There was no heating – the last person who tried to chop wood to light a stove was shot through the head by a sniper.
When I entered the home, I could smell the misery. I started taking notes, keeping a record of the number of people who had died there of the cold so that I could report it to the UN (who had done nothing to help). There I met a woman who clutched my hand and said: “Winter, winter...”
An injured woman is evacuated after an Israeli strike in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood on Tuesday. AFP
I think of this as another winter descends on Gaza. It is not the Balkans. Gaza has a Mediterranean climate. But even so, it grows cold, rainy and damp in the winter. For people whose lives have been so reduced, the constant misery of being hungry, wet and cold will make survival even more difficult.
Rain comes to Gaza in November and December. Many people sleeping in tents and outdoors will be at high risk of disease. There is fear of heavy flooding, which means contaminated water, and more water-borne diseases: cholera, dysentery, typhoid, polio, Hepatitis A. The UN describes the upcoming Gaza winter landscape in the bleakest terms: “diminishing conditions for survival.”
It's heartbreaking how Gazans – already so resourceful from having lived under a punitive blockade since June 2007 – will have even less than they have now. In North Gaza, hardest hit since the Israel-Hamas war began, bakeries and kitchens have been shut. Water and nutrition support is suspended and sanitation restricted.
Under international law, to be adequately housed means having secure tenure – not having to worry about being evicted or having your home disappear. Article 11 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights guarantees the right to housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living. “Housing is a right, not a commodity.”
Blankets are also used as gurneys to transport injured people once they are pulled from the rubble
Yet, the UN says 60 per cent of residential buildings and 80 per cent of commercial buildings in Gaza have been demolished. Everyone I know in Gaza, whom I have contacted, has lost everything. Most of them have been displaced multiple times: 90 per cent – about 1.9 million of the people are displaced within the enclave. Since the beginning of October alone, an estimated 131,000 have been forced out of their dwellings – which gives a sense of collective misery.
Reports say people have only jackets for warmth. Used clothes for sale in markets are often too expensive: the blockade has destroyed Gaza’s economy. People don’t have the money to buy simple winter supplies such as socks or warm shoes.
Dr Sara Roy, a Harvard political economist who has worked, lived in and researched Gaza for four decades, writes a newsletter for academics, journalists and humanitarians, which consolidates reports and information. Last month, she sent a startling message about blankets. Along with food, water and medical supplies, North Gaza also faces a severe shortage of blankets.
Blankets are used for warmth, but also, because of the shortage of body bags, as burial shrouds for the thousands and thousands of dead. Hani Almadhoun, one of the organisers of the Gaza Soup Kitchen, wrote on his Facebook page: “This final act of generosity, using something so precious to honour the dead, reflects a community striving to preserve dignity when everything else is stripped away. Despite the enemy’s disregard, or perhaps because of it, families have chosen to sacrifice even their warmth to ensure the humanity of their loved ones in death.”
Blankets are also used as gurneys to transport injured people once they are pulled from the rubble. But Mr Almadhoun notes: “Once stained with blood, they are difficult to clean and can no longer be reused.”
He reported that in Beit Lahia, a city north of Jabalia in Gaza, the Israeli army broke into Kamal Adwan Hospital in late October. The hospital had an extreme shortage of supplies, including body bags, medicine and blankets.
World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that Kamal Adwan Hospital was already struggling to attend to the wounded and the dying. It “has been overflowing with close to 200 patients – a constant stream of horrific trauma cases”. Sheltering in the hospital were about 300 families who had been displaced, some several times.
According to Mr Almadhoun and other witnesses, when the Israeli soldiers entered, allegedly searching for Hamas operatives, “They set the ground floor ablaze, destroying essential medications and medical supplies … But it didn’t stop there. Soldiers ordered the 300 families taking refuge in the hospital to surrender all of their blankets. The very items that provided them warmth, a semblance of comfort in these harsh times, were piled together and set on fire to fuel the destruction. Then, after the blankets were reduced to ashes, these families were forced out into the cold”.
World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that Kamal Adwan Hospital was already struggling to attend to the wounded and the dying. Reuters
Blankets are like “treasures”, he says, a “brutal reminder of the relentless suffering”.
I could not forget this story, the cruelty of taking the last thing people struggled to keep as a form of dignity – a blanket. But the story also reminded me of something that Gazans have that the Israeli army can never take away from them: resilience.
In 2021 and 2022, I was in Gaza researching “Generation Z” the youth of Gaza who would be the future generation. What I found, among the deprivation (and this was before October 7 last year) was a generation determined to lift themselves up from oppression via education, hard work and innovation.
I saw a collective of feminist green farmers; brilliant computer coders; solar panel specialists; poets, writers, artists, rock stars and actors. I left feeling hope for the future of peace in the region, if young people like them were allowed to continue their inspiring work.
I’ve lost touch with most of the people I interviewed, because they have been displaced or disappeared. What I remember the most was these young people’s extraordinary creativity and resilience, despite conditions that were appalling. Education is the cornerstone for progress, and the Palestinian concept of sumud – steadfastness – is paramount.
Gazans have a deep commitment to learning and one of the strongest sense of family that I have ever witnessed. Together, these attributes are formidable. Dr Brian K Barber, a sociologist focused on youth, is about to publish a book chronicling three Gazans who he followed for three decades. He told me that the strength of Palestinians lay in their solidified family units.
Bearing this extraordinary ability to rise above the worse circumstances, I watched a news report about a university professor, Nidda Aitta. She lost her home and her job in the north and was displaced to the south. Realising what people needed most was warm clothes, Ms Aitta founded the “Needle and Thread” workshop, to create and sell recycled clothing. She uses whatever materials she finds and uses blankets for hoodies for children and seashells for buttons.
“No clothes have entered Gaza since the beginning of the war,” she said in an interview. “My team and I tried to break the cycle of people being reliant on coupons and deliveries [of aid].” The team sewed at first entirely by hand and now use an air-powered bicycle to power their sewing machine.
When I worry that Gaza will never recover, I think of people like Nidda Aitta. And I think of what the late Ronald Schlicher, a diplomat and former US consul general to Jerusalem, once said: “You Israelis can do all sorts of things to the Palestinians, but you won't buy them and you won't break them.”
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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