Gaza strip – Gaza’s entrepreneurs, a tight-knit group who have worked hand-in-hand to improve prospects for new graduates, are reeling from Israel’s relentless killing of their colleagues as it bombards the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Mohammed Sharif Yousef, an entrepreneurship consultant at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), lost many friends and peers, some of them killed after being displaced to southern areas that the Israeli army claimed to be safe.
Yousef himself was displaced from his home in Gaza City and is now in the southern city of Khan Younis.
He has over 10 years of experience as an entrepreneur, trainer, mentor and coach, but his move placed him in a new role: that of a volunteer humanitarian agent.
“Families had no money to buy flour, which was barely available, or canned goods or vegetables,” he said.
Yousef used his motorbike to deliver groceries to families in need. Eventually his bike ran out of gas so he continued to ride it with paint thinner, which caused some malfunctions but still allowed him to get out daily.
But as the number of casualties from Israeli aerial bombardments continued to rise, he stopped going out.
” A tag “
Members of Yousef’s network were those who found technological solutions to Gaza’s problems and, as their institutions grew, created jobs for graduates with few work opportunities due to a 17-year siege. years imposed by Israel on Gaza.
On October 30, Yousef learned that his friend Tariq Thabet, who headed the business incubator at the Gaza University College of Applied Sciences, had been killed.
“I didn’t expect it,” Yousef said, in shock. “He had just returned from a trip to the United States after receiving a Fulbright scholarship.”
Yousef said Thabet had, for around fifteen years, helped thousands of young people find jobs, making a huge difference in a region as constrained as Gaza.
On November 14, two weeks after Thabet’s death, Yousef received even more devastating news: Abdelhamid al-Fayoumi, another friend, had been killed.
The two had become close friends after working together, notably at Gaza Sky Geeks and Work Without Borders.
They were roommates at one point, Yousef said, adding that Abdelhamid was a fantastic cook, preparing mujadaras (rice and lentils with caramelized onions) and maqlubas (a dish of meat, vegetables and rice cooked in a direction and turned the other way when serving). ) at any time.
They promised to meet again after the war, to discuss ideas and explore new horizons.
Al-Fayoumi had founded Sanabel, which produced software and multimedia resources for local and regional Arab markets.
“Sanabel went from failure to success to sustainability, with a team working at an international level,” said Yousef.
“What I liked about him was his diligence and the high productivity of his team. He… allowed many entrepreneurs in Gaza to succeed, but now all that has stopped. Israel is killing Gaza’s business executives.”
“Eliticide”
As Israel’s brutal offensive against the Palestinians in Gaza nears the end of its second month, the scale of the destruction goes beyond the physical.
The human cost is staggering. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 15,500 people have been killed and another 6,800 are missing under the rubble of their homes, presumed dead. Along with more than 41,000 others injured, this means that one in 40 Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip has been killed or injured by Israeli attacks.
The vast majority of victims are civilians – men, women and children. Among professionals, dozens of doctors, university professors, business leaders and journalists were killed.
In addition, roads, universities, historic buildings and places of worship were targeted by Israeli warplanes and artillery. At least 60 percent of residential units in the Gaza Strip were destroyed or damaged, in addition to 339 educational institutions.
Targeting the political and economic leaders of an ethnic group is known as “eliticide”, a word coined in the 1990s by British journalist Michael Nicholson to describe the Bijeljina massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina. .
According to Arnesa Buljusmic-Kustura, a genocide expert, researcher and speaker, the goal of eliticide is to prevent the targeted community from regenerating or rebuilding itself.
“Targeting intellectuals, academics, activists and leaders of all kinds has always been a common thread of genocide,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The murders of the most notable in your community are committed to remind you that no one is safe, to make you lose hope, to ensure that the community does not resist or reorganize itself.”
On the same day that al-Fayoumi was killed, Gaza’s entrepreneurs suffered another blow when Dr. Yasser al-Alam, the “godfather of entrepreneurship,” was killed in an Israeli attack on the city Deir el-Balah power station.
“Dr. Yasser… was a calm thinker and passionate about initiatives to find innovative solutions,” Yousef recalls.
Al-Alam was known for finding unexpected solutions and creating innovative marketing strategies.
“We expected al-Alam to have a big impact in the future, but his influence will remain in our hearts and minds,” Yousef said.
“Everyone who died in this war, whether I mention them or not, left a painful impact,” Yousef said.
“We must make their killings the fuel that drives us towards entrepreneurial success in Gaza to complete their journey. »