Palestinians in Gaza react to Egypt, Tunisia uprisings

Electronic Intifada - Pam Bailey- As news of the uprisings in a growing number of Arab countries spread like wildfire around the world, residents of other countries struggling under their own oppressive governments and soaring unemployment were celebrating on the streets, on Twitter and on Facebook. The occupied Gaza Strip was no exception.

"We, as Palestinians, salute the Tunisian people and any Arab nation rising against injustice," said Saber Zanin, coordinator of the Local Initiative Committee for Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. However, perhaps the most excited were the youth of Gaza, who saw the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan as evidence of the latent power of their generation.

"There was much excitement from what happened. I spent the whole day just following up with what was going on in Tunisia and I was actually very proud with what the people have done," said Sameeha Elwan, a 23-year-old blogger, shortly after the uprising there. "It gave me some hope and I got back the faith I have in people."


Jehan "JeJe" al-Farra, a 20-year-old English literature student, said immediately after the Tunisian uprising, "The message I got from the Tunisian movement is that the people are the cause of change. If there is any change you want you have to do it yourself. If you wait on the world, you will have to wait and wait and wait. The only way you can do anything is to revolt."

The biggest challenge facing the Arab world today is youth unemployment. According to Foreign Policy magazine, North Africa and the Middle East now have the highest percentage of young people in the world. Sixty percent of the region's' people are under the age of 30, twice the rate of North America. And with the unemployment rate at 10 percent or more, the area also has the highest regional rates of joblessness; for young people, it's four times that.

...However, Muayed Elmishal, a leader of the Sora youth group in Gaza, saw a similarity between the Tunisians' frustration and that of young Palestinians: "The Tunisian people suffered dictatorship for long years, and promises of democracy and freedom were never delivered. The Palestinian people are experiencing the same thing: After the democratic elections in 2006, never repeated until this moment, we have two separate governments -- one in the Gaza Strip and the other in the West Bank. This has caused deep frustration among the Palestinians and made them feel desperate to do something." Read more