Well done documentary on Gaza's lack of sufficient electricity. In addition to being informative, there is a nice meditative quality to the film, which helps bring the viewer into Gaza. The darkness begins to arouse a kind of claustrophobia, making the important point that the power routinely being shut off creates not only the obvious day-to-day difficulties, but brings about psychological distress as well.
The situation in Gaza is dire, and what's worse, it is man-made. The coastal territory's isolation is the product of Israel's continued occupation. In 2005, Israel merely reconfigured its control of the strip, by withdrawing from its interior and instead imposing occupation from the outside. Israel controls Gaza's airspace, land borders, and coastline. The territory has become a penal colony.
Headlines about Gaza usually don't require the article to which they correspond. This one from the BBC (Dec. 31) basically summed up Israel's relationship with Gaza: "Israel lifts ban on gravel imports into Gaza." Gravel. Or this one (Feb. 14, 2012), which appeared in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz: "Gaza's only power plant stops due to smuggled fuel shortage." With a headline like that, the article is basically superfluous.
It is also worth pointing out and repeating that the situation in Gaza, though created and maintained by Israel, relies crucially on US authority. The White House and Congress could turn it off tomorrow morning. So not only are Gaza's woes engineered and tended to with calculated precision, but the United States provides Israel diplomatic protection and financial support as it keeps the tension on Gaza's 1.7 million prisoners.
There is much confusion about how Israel supposedly manipulates Washington, but the reality is that Tev Aviv is a US client and doesn't carry out major policies like the blockade of Gaza without the master's consent.
This is not an abstract problem that is located "over there" involving "those people"; it is a problem that is abetted right here and provided durable backing and approval.
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeeraworld/2013/01/20131710543138417.html
Video report by Real News on the psychological impact on Gaza:
http://www.therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=9450
