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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Hard times at Gaza Tunnel Authority |
| 2010-02-18 |
| Smuggling tunnel business on severe decline Looks like the end of the Golden Age of Gaza Tunneling... Gaza -- Ma'an -- Gaza markets saturated with goods smuggled in through underground tunnels from Egypt have caused retailers to slash prices, often to below cost, tunnel operators said Wednesday. We slash the prices and pass the savings onto...the guys with the guns! I thought they were all starving? As a result in the margin shrinkage, dozens of tunnels have ceased operations and hundreds of young men in Gaza have lost their only source of income, they said. Sorry, Mahmoud. I gotta let ya go. I hear the jihad mission guys are hiring... Owners of some smuggling tunnels in the south of the Strip said the subterranean steel wall Egypt continues to build along the border has little to do with the tunnel closures, but rather said the business became less lucrative. One tunnel operator who preferred not to be identified, said damage done by the construction of the wall was easily repaired, and workers could cut through the steel dug into the earth by Egyptian workers. Well, that has "work accident" written all over it. Abu Ali, a second tunnel owner said "about 80% of tunnel owners closed their tunnels due to the serious increase in prices which lowered profits unprecedentedly. They are waiting for profitable deals so they can resume operations." While the numbers are not likely quite as high as 80%, all industry workers agree there has been a sharp decline. ...now the lazy bastards just sit around the union hall playing cards. Abu Ali said that recent items popular for smugglers were iron bars and cement, two items prohibited for import into Gaza by the Israeli blockade. One ton of smuggled iron bars sells for about 2,800 shekels (750 US dollars) the operator noted. In the West Bank, prices for the same product are approximately 2,600 shekels. In Gaza, however, consumers say the iron is poor quality. You call this iron, Abu? Ya friggin thief! Tunnel work, grueling and dangerous, used to fetch at least 100 US dollars a day for the average employee. While the number of tunnel-related deaths and injuries has remained constant, wages now do not exceed 20 dollars a day. Union dues, Hamas dues, Jihad dues, Dire Revenge dues... According to the director of ambulance and emergency service in Gaza, Muawiya Hassanein, the tunnels are plagued with collapses, fires, fuel leakages and are often the target of Israeli shelling. In 2009, 139 Palestinians were killed during their work in the tunnels, and at least three have died so far in 2010. Well, it's good for our business... Tunnel owners say the drop in profits from tunnel goods makes smuggling though the 300-shekel-per-meter portals a public service rather than a gold mine. Costs of building the average 300-500 meter tunnels means there are no new passages being built, and the thousands owners pay in "blood money" to families of workers killed in accidents make even maintaining the tunnels costly. We need insurance reform, dammit! With minimum profits, owners say, wages must also be cut. ♪♫ Oh, I ain't gonna work in Abu's tunnel no more...♪♫ |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #3 I guess the market in Hot Work Permits and Enclosed Spaces permits is way down, too. GOSHA (Gaza version of OSHA) is laying off collectors, I mean Inspectors, too. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2010-02-18 19:13 |
| #2 Maybe the Gov't of Massachusetts can show them how to do a Big Dig. |
| Posted by: Fozen Al 2010-02-18 11:26 |
| #1 This has got to be the funniest thing I've read in months. All the complaints of typical capitalist small businessmen being voiced by blood thirsty scum. Geez, maybe Obumble could go over there and get sone hands on experience in real work and business issues. This whole situation has moved way beyond anyones ability to parody it. This whole region would clear up in a minute if SEIU moved over there and organized these poor workers. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2010-02-18 07:14 |