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The social network has many posts showing photos and videos of the best restaurants and cafes in Gaza. Israeli propaganda often uses these images to say that life is back to normal in Gaza, that people are not suffering and that there have been no massacres.
The restaurant and bar are available. I have seen them myself.
In late March, I went on my first visit to Gaza City since the war began. I was shocked to see the destruction of the city. There were piles of garbage at every corner. Since I couldn’t recognize the streets, I felt like I was walking on the streets. Soon I came to a nearby area which surprised me. It was full of new restaurants that didn’t exist before the war.
This was not a temporary or temporary place as one might expect; they were built with precious materials, beautifully painted, decorated with tables, sofas, and beautiful chairs, with transparent mirrors and bright lamps. They felt very good. It seemed so insignificant among the ruins and half-collapsed buildings that it seemed surreal to see.
These new organizations do not guarantee that normality is returning to Gaza. They are proof of the continued killing of people.
The war made some people in Gaza rich, especially those who engaged in illegal activities such as smuggling, looting, and looting during famine. This wealth now comes in many forms, including restaurants and high-end restaurants.
On the other hand, many people in Gaza live in extreme poverty. Although before the war, a common man could afford to sit in a cafe and have a drink and a meal, this is not the case today.
Most people can’t even look at these new sites, let alone go in and order something. Many Gazans live in tents, have no electricity or running water, and are suffering from lack of basic necessities. They are surviving on the little aid that Israel allows.
I am one of them. My family and I are living in a tent built near the ruins of our house in the Nuseirat camp. Our family has lost our wealth. The good life we used to live now is no longer remembered.
The new high-cost institutions reflect the unjust system that has developed in Gaza – where military gains have raised a new privileged class and plunged many into poverty without access to quality education, health care and food. Genocide did not only kill and maim people and destroy homes and schools; it ended the hope of a better life for many people in Gaza.
I didn’t have money to buy fancy restaurants, so I kept walking down the street until I came to a very nice restaurant, which I used to go to with my friends before the war. Walking in felt like stepping back in time to pre-war days; the place was the same, with the same chairs and tables, and a familiar smell that filled the place.
I sat down and watched, remembering the fun times I spent there after university. I ordered what I usually order: a chicken wrap, a soda and a small salad bowl. The bill was 60 shekels ($20) – three times what I would have paid before the war, when my family had a stable income.
The restaurant bill, along with the fare I paid for the shared ride to Gaza City (15 shekels or $5 one way), cost me a fortune. I felt guilty for spending all this money to enjoy a normal life.
The few who are lucky enough to go to the bars and restaurants of Gaza can enjoy a few moments of relaxation, a temporary escape from the real danger. However these moments are few, they are often accompanied by the anxiety of returning to damaged roads, bombed areas and danger.
When I was in Al-Taboon, I thought about the friends I used to spend time with: Rama, who was killed for his faith and Ranan, who fled to Belgium. I sat there alone, holding on to these memories in the darkness of Gaza’s wasteland and the lights of a generator-powered restaurant.
Genocide has harmed everyone – even those who benefited from it. No amount of time spent in fancy restaurants and cafes can take this away.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect Al Jazeera’s influence.
