Four men sat at the entrance of the Beach refugee camp, conversing about their misery and telling about the sufferings of their families .
These four men used to work for the construction sector, but nowadays they cannot get any job opportunities. One of them said that the scarcity of cement and its high prices caused high unemployment rates among workers .
According to statistics, the Egyptian authorities demolished tunnels used by Gazans to smuggle food and essential needs; this deprived 25,000 Gaza families from their only source of income .
Tragedy
Abu Yusuf, the eldest among the four, stressed that he had not built a wall for months because of the high prices of cement and raw materials, which are already scarce in Gaza. Abu Yusuf pointed out that his eldest son had to look for a job to help the family survive .
President of the Palestine Federation of Trade Unions, Sami Amassi, confirmed that unemployment rates reached more than 60% among the labor force .
Amassi said that the Palestinian workers are going through the worst conditions due to the loss of the only source of income, noting that the majority of workers have been totally reliant on the UNRWA aids .
Worst conditions
Dr. Moeen Rajab, professor of economic studies at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, confirmed that the rates of unemployment aroused among the labor force because of the destruction of tunnels .
90% of the construction projects stopped, for no raw materials are allowed into the Gaza Strip anymore .
He confirmed that huge numbers of people lost their jobs due to the siege .
Rajab stressed that the economic problems are still going on, and the Palestinian government in Gaza is going through a serious financial crisis .
