Gaza - "Jerusalem" dot com - Ahmed Al-Masharawi - Poverty, widespread unemployment and the interruption of job opportunities caused by the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than 16 years are prompting Palestinian citizens to invent new and less expensive ways to follow the fun of the World Cup hosted by the Qatari capital, Doha, since November 20, as well as to watch their participating teams that they love, and the stars of the round witch from international and Arab teams.

Happiness in the midst of deprivation

Citizen Fadl Ibrahim al-Sakani, 43, sits with his four children in front of a small TV screen that he bought from the hardware department in the historic Firas market in central Gaza. He hardly catches broadcasts of the matches, but he feels overjoyed as he watches the results of successive matches. Fadl, who lives in a house not exceeding 60 meters in the poorer popular neighborhood of Al-Tuffah, which is covered with zinc, says: I am very happy despite the simplicity of the place around me. With the arrival of five o’clock, my children, nephews, and neighbors gather around me, watching the matches in an evening under the moonlight that extends until midnight, sipping. Tea cooked on the fire.

He points out that his happiness lies in the presence of his children around him, happy, far from the hustle and bustle, and without incurring any expenses that weigh on his daily earnings of about 25 shekels as a porter.

The World Cup is the joy of the poor

In another hall inside a house in Al-Shati refugee camp, the family of Amjad Al-Hissi, who works in fishing, and his relatives gather to watch the World Cup matches in front of the small screen, among his children, his wife, and his parents.

Amjad finished university studies at the Faculty of Economics, but he has not yet found an opportunity for employment, and he says: The World Cup is the joy of the poor who live the harshness of life, who find in their teams and stars a breather and a balm for their suffering.

He adds: We spend our days toiling in our difficult and exhausting work to earn a living for our children, but when we sit with them sipping cups of tea or eating simple entertainment, we can forget the fatigue and suffering that accompanied us throughout the day.

The ball makes them forget their troubles and draws their laughter

The journalist, Louay Ragab, says that these poor and disadvantaged people forget their followers when they watch the ball move between the feet of the players. In the slums of the camps and destitute towns emerged the stars of the round witch, and the heroes of puffed leather.

In conclusion, conveying the news of the rich and their pictures in front of the giant screens is a natural matter, but conveying the feelings and joy of the poor is the expected date, because they are the most admired, and the most wonderful expression, since they cannot follow the World Cup on the ground of the event, while they meet on simplicity, love and family warmth.