Made-in-China products still present in Gaza
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Despite the closure of Gaza travel and commercial crossings, Palestinian merchant Abu Hussam Huwaity, can still get shipments of high quality made-in-China goods and sell them for good prices in Gaza.
"China is a blessing from God," said Abu Hussam, who was one of the first Gazans to travel to China for business when it began to open up its economy to Palestinians in the early 1990s. "We no longer need the Israelis or the Europeans, China is enough."
In his store in downtown Gaza, Abu Hussam sells men's wears, all made in China. It has been three years now since he last received a shipment from China routinely through the Karni crossing, the only commercial crossing between Israel and the strip.
Israel imposed tough closure on the Gaza Strip, home for 1.5 million Palestinians, in 2007 after the Islamic Hamas movement, which calls for the annihilation of Israel, seized control of the strip following fierce fighting with its rival Fatah movement, which now controls the West Bank.
"I have a business office in Yiwu City of China," said Abu Hussam. "I used to ship goods from China to the Israeli seaport of Ashdod then to Gaza through Karni crossing."
But like everyone in Gaza, Abu Hussam and his business were badly damaged and affected by the siege. Thus, he and thousands of Gaza merchants, had to use other ways to keep the flow of goods coming into Gaza.
"Tunnels are also blessing from God," he said, smiling. "My office is still operating in China, I still can buy China-made goods and ship them to Egypt then get them into Gaza through the underground tunnels."
Palestinians use tunnels, that snake under the borderline between Gaza and Egypt, to get food and different commodities for the war-torn enclave. However Israel says Palestinians use tunnels also to smuggle weapons that are meant to be used against Israeli targets.
During its last winter offensive on Gaza, Israel targeted the smuggling tunnels in Rafah, claiming it destroyed most of them. Nonetheless, a few days after the offensive stopped, the tunnels, under full control of Hamas, resumed to function and bring in all kinds of goods, food stuff and even livestock.
Abu Hussam, who has been in business with Chinese companies for more than 15 years now, said there are more than 35 Palestinian companies with offices in China, adding most of them are still operating and working in the same manner as his.
Abu Hussam said, before Israel imposes the closure on Gaza, the Palestinian imports of Chinese goods are worth billions of U.S. dollars through direct trade by Palestinian businessmen or through Israel, but now he cannot judge "because things have been unclear and the whole business is being conducted discretely underground."
"Customers prefer goods made in China because they look better and are cheaper," said Abu Hussam who renews visa one after another for China, but still the closure bans him from traveling. "The financial situation is not helping and people are looking for the cheap and good products at the same time. Chinese goods have both privileges."
Wafaa Hejazi 38, who was at Abu Hussam's store to buy clothes for her husband, said she most prefer Chinese made goods not only because they are cheap, but also because they have high quality.
"Many people think that the Chinese products are not good because they are cheap, but after they try them they discover that they were wrong because these goods are manufactured under international standards and live longer than goods and products made in many Arab and European countries," she said.
Only a few meters away from Abu Hussam's store, Abu Rami Humaid, 54, owner of shoes store, was on the phone speaking to a tunnel owner, asking him about a shipment of Chinese shoes anticipated to be smuggled into Gaza for his store.
"It's illegal but we have no other options. I have a family and I have commitments," he said. "I pray days and nights that the crossings would be open soon because bringing my goods through tunnels is risky, unsecured, costly and slow."
Abu Rami, once a small businessman and now a wealthy owner of a big company, thanks to his business with China, believes that "the Gaza Strip mainly depends on the Chinese products."
"People might not believe this, but it's 100 percent true," said Abu Rami, whose store's neon sign is written in Chinese. " Have a look over Gaza markets and stores, generators, motorbikes, washing machines, clothes and even Palestinian Kafyyas (traditional headgear) are made in China."
"They manufacture everything with high quality and low prices, everything in Gaza is manufactured in China. I'm afraid there is nothing the Chinese cannot manufacture."
