Palestinian refugees embrace hydroponic farming in Jordan’s ‘Gaza Camp’

Palestinian refugees embrace hydroponic farming in Jordan’s ‘Gaza Camp’
Idris Abu Saleh grows a variety of vegetables and herbs at his homemade hydroponic greenhouse in Jerash refugee camp in Jordan. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)
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Updated 02 April 2024
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Palestinian refugees embrace hydroponic farming in Jordan’s ‘Gaza Camp’

Palestinian refugees embrace hydroponic farming in Jordan’s ‘Gaza Camp’
  • Idris Abu Saleh’s greenhouse uses just a fraction of the water needed for traditional farming
  • Though yields vary, Abu Saleh can offer cheaper produce than competitors at key demand times during Ramdan

AMMAN: At Jordan’s Jerash Camp for refugees, 24-year-old Idris Abu Saleh says he frequently finds news reporters at his door eager to take photographs of his famed homemade hydroponic greenhouse. 

This 32-square-meter plastic structure, which sits on his rooftop in the worn down encampment, is celebrated as a story of Palestinian resilience and sustainable entrepreneurship.




The outside of Idris Abu Saleh's homemade hydroponic greenhouse which is built on his rooftoop in Jerash refugee camp, Jordan. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)

“I got the idea to start this project during the pandemic, when I had a lot of free time on my hands,” Abu Saleh told Arab News. 

After months of researching on the internet, the pharmacist began experimenting with aquaponics, a type of agriculture that combines fish farming in tanks with soilless plant cultivation.

Its success paved the way for his foray into hydroponic farming, which uses only a fraction of the water that traditional agriculture does.

According to UNICEF, Jordan’s annual renewable water per person is under 100 cubic meters, well below the 500-cubic-meter threshold indicating severe water scarcity.

Recognizing the project’s potential to mitigate climate change risks through sustainable natural resource management, the UN Development Program awarded Abu Saleh a grant to construct a 32-square-meter greenhouse.




The inside of Idris Abu Saleh's hydroponic greenhouse. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)

Using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil, here he grows strawberries, green onions, red lettuce and herbs like sage, basil and rosemary. 

He sells his produce in his brother’s camp market store and to local restaurants, becoming a critical source of income for the family.

Due to their non-citizen status, Palestinian refugees in Jordan face legal restrictions that limit their access to employment opportunities.

However, Abu Saleh, who was unable to find a job after graduation, said: “I want people to know that working isn’t shameful. Whatever opportunity you can find, whatever blessing you are given, take it no matter what. You don’t have to have a degree, or for it to have been something you have studied.”




Green onions are harvested four times a year at the greenhouse. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)

His hydroponic farm yields vary; onions, for example, are harvested four times a year, each cycle bringing in 70 to 100 kilograms and netting profits between 50 to 120 dinars ($70 to $169). 

Red lettuces, with 210 planted per cycle, offer a 40-day turnaround for an average profit of 63 dinars. Yet, seasonal demand fluctuations have challenged his earnings stability.

“For example, as the weather gets warmer, people stop buying green onions, it’s more of a winter vegetable. So I try to see what I can grow and sell that is in season but it’s not going to earn me as much as selling onions,” Abu Saleh said. 

According to UNICEF in 2021, Jerash Camp, locally known as “Gaza Camp,” is the poorest of the 10 Palestine refugee camps in Jordan, with the majority of households falling below the poverty threshold.




The view from Abu Saleh's rooftoop overlooking Jerash camp, located 50 km from Jordan's capital. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)

Abu Saleh’s affordable produce becomes particularly significant during Ramadan. Despite increased expenses of preparing larger meals to break fasts, his direct-from-source sales model ensures lower prices compared to traditional supermarkets. 

He mentioned that during the holy month, his produce sells three times faster than usual. 

This Ramadan, however, the camp’s atmosphere is somber with the toll of Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip. Over 90 percent of the refugee population in the camp were expelled from the enclave during the 1960s. Many still had relatives in Gaza who have been killed over the last six months. 

The humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip has redirected much of the charitable donations typically seen by Jerash Camp during Ramadan, exacerbating the hardships faced by these refugees.




24-year-old Palestinian refugee Idris Abu Saleh. (AN Photo/Tamara Turki)

Entrepreneurial initiatives, such as Abu Saleh’s greenhouse, have become a critical financial lifeline for the community. 

“The greenhouse has also been intrinsically reward, I’ve learned so much from this experience. I hope one day, when I can afford it, to pursue a master’s degree in traditional agriculture, hydroponics, and medicinal herbs,” Abu Saleh said. 

He also hopes to also expand his greenhouse so he can grow more produce.

 


Libya’s Derna hosts theater festival year after flash flood

Libya’s Derna hosts theater festival year after flash flood
Updated 3 sec ago
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Libya’s Derna hosts theater festival year after flash flood

Libya’s Derna hosts theater festival year after flash flood
Nizar Al-Aned, artistic director of the Derna Festival, said organizers had “insisted that the festival take place, even if the theater is still under construction” to rebuild it
Tunisian comedian Abir Smiti said it was her first time at the event

DERNA, Libya: A year after a flash flood ripped through Derna and killed thousands of people, the coastal Libyan city is hosting a theater festival with a message of hope.
The city in the war-torn country’s east is still reeling from the flooding that destroyed historic buildings, including Libya’s oldest theater where the festival was held in previous years.
Nizar Al-Aned, artistic director of the Derna Festival, said organizers had “insisted that the festival take place, even if the theater is still under construction” to rebuild it.
Now, back after a pause due to the September 2023 floods, the festival’s sixth edition is being held this week under the slogan: “Derna is back, Derna is hope.”
With five theater troupes from Libya, and one each from neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, the event has drawn artists, comedians and visitors from across the Arab world.
Tunisian comedian Abir Smiti said it was her first time at the event.
“To me, Derna is a discovery,” she told AFP.
“When you just arrive, you can feel the pain, but at the same time there’s joy. You can feel how everyone has hope.”
Once home to about 120,000 inhabitants, the wall of water that swept through Derna last year killed nearly 4,000 people, left thousands missing and displaced more than 40,000 others, according to the United Nations.
It was the result of extreme rainfall from hurricane-strength Storm Daniel, which had caused two dams to burst inland from the city that lies some 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) east of the capital Tripoli.
Libya is still grappling with the aftermath of the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled long-time dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
The chaos that ensued saw the rise of jihadist movements, with Derna coming under the control of Al-Qaeda and later the Daesh group before they were chased out by 2018.
The North African country remains split between two rival administrations.
The divisions have complicated the emergency response and reconstruction efforts.
Derna is under the eastern administration backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar, whose son Belgacem Haftar has been the figurehead for reconstruction in the city.
At the theater festival, jury member Hanane Chouehidi told AFP that “despite the drama, the deaths and the destruction,” she was confident Derna could be rebuilt.
“Derna deserves to be beautiful, just as its residents deserve to be happy,” she said.

Israeli foreign minister says ICC “lost all legitimacy” with Netanyahu, Gallant ruling

Israeli foreign minister says ICC “lost all legitimacy” with Netanyahu, Gallant ruling
Updated 3 min 41 sec ago
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Israeli foreign minister says ICC “lost all legitimacy” with Netanyahu, Gallant ruling

Israeli foreign minister says ICC “lost all legitimacy” with Netanyahu, Gallant ruling
  • “A dark moment for the International Criminal Court,” Saar said on X

JERUSALEM: The International Criminal Court has “lost all legitimacy” after issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday.
“A dark moment for the International Criminal Court,” Saar said on X, adding that it had issued “absurd orders without authority.”

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s office rejected the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against him and his former defense chief, describing them as “anti-Semitic.”
“Israel rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions leveled against it by ICC,” his office said in a statement, adding Israel won’t “give in to pressure” in the defense of its citizens. 


Displaced by war, cancer patients in Lebanon struggle for survival

Displaced by war, cancer patients in Lebanon struggle for survival
Updated 21 November 2024
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Displaced by war, cancer patients in Lebanon struggle for survival

Displaced by war, cancer patients in Lebanon struggle for survival

BEIRUT: Lebanese small business owner Ahmad Fahess thought nothing could be more devastating than his cancer diagnosis until suddenly, while he was at work one day, Israeli airstrikes started targeting his town of Nabatieh in south Lebanon.
When he saw the tangled mess around him, he knew he had to grab his family and flee.
“We want to go back to our homes, to our work,” he said, breaking into tears as he received cancer treatment at the American University of Beirut’s Medical Center (AUBMC), his sister sitting next to his bed.
Israel launched a broad attack on southern Lebanon in September, almost a year after Iran-backed Hezbollah militants there stepped up their rocket fire on northern Israel as Israeli forces fought Hamas gunmen who had attacked Israel from Gaza.
Washington is trying to broker a ceasefire but Israel says it must be able to continue defending itself. It says Hezbollah uses civilians as human shields, something the militants deny.
A father of two teenagers who owned four welding shops in Nabatieh, Fahess is now not only unsure when he will be able to go home, but also how long he will be able to access treatment for the rare cancer, sarcoma, which affects the connective tissue in his left arm.
“I used to come three days to Beirut for treatment and go back home,” he said. “Now with the war, we were displaced, and the treatment struggle started.”
Thousands of cancer patients are among more than a million people who have fled their homes.
“It all happened very quickly. We were at work when the shelling started; we were surprised by it,” he said. He fled with his family to Antelias in Mount Lebanon with only $4,500 that quickly dwindled.
Fahess now depends on the hospital’s Cancer Support Fund, a charity initiative launched in 2018 to assist cancer patients and now also giving extra support to displaced individuals.
“The treatment is costly; if the hospital didn’t help me, I couldn’t have afforded it,” he said.
But he is worried about funding drying up. “If we have to pay and we’re back at our homes, it would be fine, but if we are still displaced, it’ll be impossible,” he said.
Lebanon’s health ministry said more than 2,500 displaced cancer patients have been forced to find new treatment centers, as at least eight hospitals in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs were out of action due to Israeli shelling.
Cancer was already expensive to treat under Lebanon’s health care system, which in recent years has been battered further by economic crisis.
It is now under severe strain, said Ali Taher, the director of the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute at AUBMC, adding that treating displaced patients has brought new complications, including finding their missing medical records and doctors.
“It’s also difficult to get cancer screening ahead of time because it’s no longer a priority for people,” Taher said.
Ghazaleh Naddaf, 67, was displaced from the southern village of Debel. Now living with her brother in Beirut, the former pharmacist assistant lost her job and has been unable to afford her therapy for multiple myeloma for two months.
“I am skipping treatment and medication,” she said. “I used to come twice a week for treatment, paying over $1,000. I can’t afford it anymore,” adding that she also needs a bone marrow transplant costing $50,000, an expense far beyond her reach.
“It’s war, and there is no safety, and I still need to go through the treatment to get on with my life,” she said.
Hala Dahdah Abou Jaber, co-founder of the Cancer Support Fund, said displaced cancer patients have to choose between basic necessities and life-threatening therapies and many can no longer co-pay for their treatment.
“Cancer doesn’t wait. Cancer is not a disease that gives you time; it’s harsh,” she said.


Iran president visits Sistan-Baluchistan after deadly attack

Iran president visits Sistan-Baluchistan after deadly attack
Updated 21 November 2024
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Iran president visits Sistan-Baluchistan after deadly attack

Iran president visits Sistan-Baluchistan after deadly attack

TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in the restive southeast of Iran on Thursday for a visit to Sistan-Baluchistan province, state media reported, nearly a month after one of the deadliest ever attacks in the region.
Sistan-Baluchistan, located some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) from the capital Tehran, shares a long border with Pakistan and Afghanistan and has experienced recurring clashes between Iranian security forces and rebels from the Baluch minority, radical Sunni groups and drug traffickers.
On October 26, ten police officers were killed in what the authorities described as a “terrorist” attack.
Pezeshkian arrived at the airport in the regional capital Zahedan for a one-day visit during which he was set to meet the families of the dead police officers, state television reported.
Since the October 26 attack, Iranian forces have launched a vast counterterrorism operation in Sistan-Baluchistan that is ongoing, during which at least 26 militants have been killed and around fifty people arrested, according to the authorities.
The Sunni jihadist group Jaish Al-Adl — Army of Justice in Arabic — based in Pakistan and active in southeastern Iran, claimed responsibility for the attack in a message on Telegram.
The Iranian president is also scheduled to visit the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone, a major project aimed at developing southern Iran.
Chabahar Port, which bypasses the heavy traffic of the Strait of Hormuz, is aimed at attracting businesses from nearby Pakistan, India, the Gulf and China among others.
Chabahar, located on the edge of the Indian Ocean, was exempted by Washington from the economic sanctions it unilaterally reimposed after withdrawing from a landmark nuclear agreement.
Sistan-Baluchistan, one of the most impoverished provinces in the country, is home to a large number of the Baluch minority, an ethnic group spread between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan which practices Sunni Islam in contrast to the country’s predominantly Shiite population.


International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant
Updated 21 November 2024
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International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant

International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant
  • The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to further isolate them and complicate efforts to negotiate a ceasefire to end the 13-month conflict

THE HAGUE: The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over the war in Gaza and the October 2023 attacks that triggered Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory.
The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to further isolate them and complicate efforts to negotiate a ceasefire to end the 13-month conflict. But its practical implications could be limited since Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court and several of the Hamas officials have been subsequently killed in the conflict.
Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have condemned ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for warrants as disgraceful and antisemitic. US President Joe Biden also blasted the prosecutor and expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas. Hamas also slammed the request.
“The Chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity,” the three-judge panel wrote in its unanimous decision to issue warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in September that it had submitted two legal briefs challenging the ICC’s jurisdiction and arguing that the court did not provide Israel the opportunity to investigate the allegations itself before requesting the warrants.
“No other democracy with an independent and respected legal system like that which exists in Israel has been treated in this prejudicial manner by the Prosecutor,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein wrote on X. He said Israel remained “steadfast in its commitment to the rule of law and justice” and would continue to protect its citizens against militancy.
The ICC is a court of last resort that only prosecutes cases when domestic law enforcement authorities cannot or will not investigate. Israel is not a member state of the court. The country has struggled to investigate itself in the past, rights groups say.
Despite the warrants, none of the suspects is likely to face judges in The Hague any time soon. The court itself has no police to enforce warrants, instead relying on cooperation from its member states.