Feature: Gazans' happiness mixes with bitter memories before Muslims' Eid al-Fittr

While baking cookies on the eve of Eid al-Fittr holiday that ends the fasting month of Ramadan, Om Ibrahim Mashharawi and her neighbors had a mixture feeling of happiness and sadness thinking of their loved ones who were killed in last summer's war in Gaza.

The fasting month of Ramadan is expected to end on Thursday. Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan with three-day holiday called Eid al-Fitr, or the end of fasting.

Mashharawi and several women sat on the ground helping each other baking Eidul Fittr cookies. They were staying near the debris of her house, which was destroyed by Israeli tanks shelling on eastern Gaza city last year.

"Every tiny part of this house reminds me of the tragic memories and the loss I had," Mashharawi told Xinhua with sadness and tears. "My wounds haven't been healed yet after my eldest son was killed and our home was completely destroyed," she continued.

Although her tears were never dry, she knew that life has to go on. "Therefore we decided to bring joy to our children by making cookies and buying them new clothes," she said. It's a tradition in Arab countries that on the eve of Eid al-Fittr, women would bake cookies at home.

Palestinians in Gaza could not celebrate the important Muslim festival last year because of the ongoing Israeli large-scale military operation that lasted for 50 days.

The conflict ended after Egypt brokered a truce between Israel and Gaza's Hamas-led militant groups. More than 2,200 Palestinians were killed and over 11,000 wounded, while large destruction in housing and infrastructure was left without being rebuilt.

Mashharawi expressed dissatisfaction that her house hasn't been rebuilt yet when this year's Eid al-Fittr comes. "It has been almost one year and my house is still the same, and we are still waiting for the reconstruction plan. I'm so sad for our house, but extremely sad for losing my son."

Om Issam Skafi, one of the neighbors agreed with Mashharawi that the Palestinians should insist on rebuilding what had been destroyed by the Israeli army. "The war has been over one year ago, and I believe it is a legitimate right that should be accomplished as soon as possible," she said.

Skafi lost one of her sons during the war. She said that having sons killed was the hardest part of the war. But at the same time it is sad that she and Mashharawi were not neighbors anymore because they were displaced and live in different places now.

In October last year, international donors convened in Cairo for two days and pledged 5.4 billion U.S. dollars for reconstructing what had been destroyed during the war.

However, a recent World Bank report said that the reconstruction plan has been going too slow, adding that an improvement in speeding up the process is linked to relaxing more than eight years of Israeli blockade and allowing large amounts of construction materials to the coastal enclave.

The report warned that the current situation in the Gaza "has become unbearable amid a growing rate of unemployment that climbed to 43 percent, while 40 percent of the populations of the impoverished enclave are living under the poverty line."

Sitting at his air-conditioned store in Gaza city's downtown, the 32-year-old vendor Husam Taha voiced a little optimistic that during the season of Eid al-Fittr, he would be able to cover his financial loss he had last year.

"Vendors and store keepers in Gaza suffer from a severe decline of business during the whole year. We just wait for big seasons like the Eid holiday or the start of schools to compensate our losses," said Taha, who was interrupted by one of his customers asking about the price of Chinese-made earrings.

In Gaza city's downtown, the main streets were so busy. Streets are full of people holding newly bought gifts. Others are holding bags full of candies, or flour and butter for making cookies of the festival.

For poor Palestinians in Gaza, Eid al-Fittr is an opportunity of joy. The festival in Gaza has its own traditions. Parents usually buy new garments and shoes for their children and wives make meals that are a bit salty.

"It's just one day prior to the Eid al-Fittr, and I can tell you that business so far was very good. But we really don't know what to do after the Eid ends, because we still have a severe economical problem due to the Israeli siege and the ongoing internal Palestinian division," said Taha.

Local economic expert Maher Tabaa told Xinhua that commercial activities witness a significant decline in the Gaza Strip in the past few years, adding that "there is a clear recession due to the weak purchasing power that was an outcome of the difficult living condition." Endit