Re: The Gaza Sewage Tsunami
This is a horrible hardship. But it is hardly a freak accident, as the UN had been warning about this problem for years. This project was exempt from embargos, and foreign aid financing had been secured for nearly two years. The security problems in the area (ie the Hamas gunmen who seemed to be in abundance after the incident) had prevented construction from going forward. And, just for the record, the sewage treatment plant was actually built by the Israelis, to handle 50,000 people. Over 200,000 currently use it.
“But Stuart Shepherd, the UN’s humanitarian aid officer in Gaza, said the Umm al-Naser plant had not been affected by the aid boycott, noting there had long been warnings about the plant.
A UN report in 2004 had warned that the sewage facility was at its maximum capacity, and flooding was inevitable unless a new waste treatment plant was constructed.
Mr Shepherd said foreign investment had been secured to build the treatment plant, but construction had not gone ahead because of security risks in the area.”