Ma'an News Agency (Palestine) : "EU donates 13 million euros to create jobs in Gaza"

EU donates 13 million euros to create jobs in Gaza

Published yesterday (updated) 01/09/2009 18:59

Bethlehem – Ma’an – The European Commission announced on Tuesday a donation of 13 million euros to a United Nations job creation program in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Christian Berger, the European Commission (EC) Representative for the West Bank and Gaza, made the announcement to UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen Abu Zayd at Gaza City’s port, Al-Mina.

The donation will go towards UNRWA’s Job Creation Programme in the Gaza Strip, which provides temporary jobs designed to alleviate what the UN says is are unemployment crisis and high poverty rates in the area.

According to UNRWA, the commission’s first-ever contribution will provide jobs for more than 17,000 direct beneficiaries, reaching a total of 105,384 direct and indirect beneficiaries through the hired workers and their dependents. More than 1,450,000 job days will be generated, a welcome development given current economic circumstances.

In a joint statement the EC and UNRWA said, “The ongoing blockade of Gaza continues to dictate the lives of ordinary people and has led to an unprecedented unemployment rate of 40 percent – one of the highest in the world.”

“Today's contribution serves two purposes: to highlight once again the very real hardships faced by the men and women of Gaza and to reaffirm the European Commission's commitment to help them address those hardships,” said Christian Berger.

“Funding towards UNRWA’s Job Creation Programme has never been more crucial, as people in Gaza struggle under the hardship of the ongoing blockade and the effects of the recent conflict. The main priority for ordinary Gazans is to work and to lead productive lives, not to receive hand-outs. UNRWA Job Creation addresses this, as it provides thousands of employment opportunities for both men and women, targeting the poorest and most vulnerable of refugee households,” said Karen Abu Zayd, the UNRWA chief.

“By supporting UNRWA’s efforts to assist those who would otherwise have few or no opportunities to provide for their families, our friends in Europe demonstrate yet again their commitment to the people of Gaza and their aspirations to live normal lives,” she added.

With the EU funds, UNRWA said it will prioritize projects in Gaza’s nearly-collapsed private sector, assistance to local utilities and service providers, as well as support to help UNRWA fulfill its humanitarian and human development responsibilities in fields such as education, environmental health and food distribution.

The EU contribution constitutes a significant part of UNRWA’s overall target under the 2009 Quick Response Plan of creating jobs for 40,500 refugees, directly and indirectly reaching as many as a quarter of the nearly 1.1 million registered refugees in Gaza.

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