اطلاق مشروع ساند لإنقاذ وترميم الزراعة في غزة بعد العدوان
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In collaboration with the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine, APN launched the “Saned” campaign to save and restore the agricultural sector in Gaza, with the aim of supporting Palestinaian farmers and helping them resume with their businesses and projects after incurring loses as a result of the latest aggression on Gaza (August 9th, 2021).

 

The “Saned” campaign aims to establish several development projects through planting 32,000 fruit trees and one million vegetable seedlings, planting half a million square meters of fodder grains, in addition to supplying 100,000 chicks for meat production, restoring 100 agricultural ponds and 100 greenhouses, distributing 50 fishing nets, and finally providing 1,000 beehives. 

 

The campaign was launched - which strives to collect a sufficient amount of donations and contributions to reconstruct agricultural projects - through live streaming on our Facebook page in addition to live broadcasting on other organizations’ Facebook pages, and Arabic and Palestinian TV stations. Several individuals gave speeches during these broadcasts including APN’s Chair Mrs. Razan Zuayter and Dr. Abdul Malik Sukariya, Secretary of the Global Campaign. Video Clips were included in the broadcast to emphasise the extent of losses (numeric) inflicted on the agriculture sector in Gaza, moreover the clips included a snippet of some personal experiences of both male and female farmers who lost their jobs and sources of income. 

 

During the opening speech, APN President Razan Zuayter clarified that the losses exceeded $200 million US dollars, aside from the massive food shortage that resulted from these events, adding: “The evidence is clear and blatant, the oppressors are using food as a weapon against civilians violating all humanitarian and international laws.” 

 

The occupational forces’ latest aggression on Gaza destroyed 25% of the planted vegetables, one million square meter of agricultural land (planted with fruit trees), 17% of the lands planted with field crops, 20% of the beehives they owned and 17% of the greenhouses. Moreover, one million chickens were killed during this attack, in addition to destroying 165 agricultural ponds along the Gaza Strip. 

 

Zuayter stressed that resisting this reality where the occupational force wants to impose power forcefully over the Palestinains can not be achieved without hard work and support for the besieged people, especially those living in the Gaza Strip, pointing out that “Saned” will help cover the needs of about 2,000 families operating in the agricultural sector, it will also provide food for over 425,000 individuals, in addition to providing job opportunities for 3,600 individuals. 

 

For his part, Abdul Malik Sukariya, the Secretary of the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine, considered that supporting the agriculture sector in Palestine is an “act of resistance, as well as a fulfillment of some moral duty towards our people in Palestine, who gave their blood, homes and livelihoods and remained strong despite the great losses they faced” pointing to the fact that “productive projects and infrastructure have always been the target of the brutal Israeli bombardment.” 

 

Sukariya also added that the joint campaign aims to “support the Palestinain farmer and help them hold on their land, serve it and use it appropriately. It also represents resistance and liberation and a tool to face the siege on the Gaza Strip.” He ensured that; “Over their years of hard and successful work over the Palestinian territories, APN’s approach is scientific and thoughtful in response to the needs of the farmers and their land.” 

 

As he concluded his speech, Sukariya called for the “concentrated efforts and cooperation of Palestine's supporters around the world to take advantage of the opportunity and participate in the project as much as they can, in order to support Palestine's”. 

 

The launch of this campaign also included speeches conducted by international and Arab personalities, who expressed their appreciation and support to the Palestinians in addition to their participation in the “Saned” campaign. They also called on supporters of the cause and Palestinains to actively and intensively participate in the campaign. Human Rights activists spoke to the late Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, Tushar Gandhi, who discussed how the British colonialism of India worked systematically to destroy Indian production and agriculture. He also called on the supporters of Palestine in the Indian  subcontinent to support this huge project.

 

Chilean Senator Alejandro Navarro who also spoke during the event, stated that he considers that the “criminal siege on Gaza has caused serious problems on its residents”, calling on his people to support the reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure in the Gaza Strip to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, and added “Chile has a duty, Latin America has an obligation to revive agriculture in Gaza.”

 

Kuwaiti MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan aimed to send a message to Kuwaitis and Arabs calling on them to support the Palestinian people, who “brought pride and dignity to Arabs”, considering that helping achieve food security to Palestinians is a duty and necessity. 

 

The campaign ceremony broadcasted in both Arabic and English, and included clips portraying the experience of the farmers in Gaza. The recent war caused farmers to stop working on their fields, poultry and beekeeping, etc. due to the lack of financial capacity, logistical difficulties that followed the war. An ending note featured an expressive message made by one of the farmers in Gaza, “We are not beggars, all we want is assistance that will bring us back to the field of work again so that we can rely on ourselves and stand firm in the face of the occupation”.