Story

The Living

January 28, 2009
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(Al-Amri Mosque, Gaza City) First Friday prayers after the end of operation 'Cast Lead' and the declaration of the ceasefire.

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(Gaza City) The first major Hamas rally after the ceasefire - a defiant Hamas leadership determined to transform the Israeli assault into some kind of 'victory' quickly organized its public relations campaign.

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(Zeytoun, Gaza City) The remains of what was once a poultry farm near the homes of the Somouni family - 28 members of the family were killed during Israel's operation 'Cast Lead', and most all their homes and businesses in the area were destroyed. The Israeli Army claims that it is investigating the incident at this site.

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Jabaliya refugee camp, Gaza City.

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(Shifa Hospital, Gaza City) Victim of suspected white phosphorous attack.

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(Jabal Kashif, Gaza City) Searching for remains of family members.

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(Beit Jala, Gaza) The funeral of Gaza policeman Mohammad Burai, who succumbed to his wounds in an Egyptian hospital and was later buried by friends and family in Gaza.

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(Egyptian-Gaza border, Rafah, Gaza) Young Palestinian boys watch the first football game in the city since the declaration of the ceasefire. The game, being played along the heavily bombarded, Egyptian-Rafah border area, was meant to raise awareness of the struggles and suffering of Rafah's children. The infamous Gaza tunnels are mostly built along this area and were the stated reasons for the heavy bombardment.

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(near Khan Younis refugee camp) Gaza people wait outside a gas distribution facility - severe shortages has meant long waits, limited supply and high prices for precious commodities like cooking gas and petrol.

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Johar Al Deek neighborhood

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(Gaza City) Ghassan Ibrahim Matar lost his feet from a missile fired from a pilotless drone - the attack killed 3 members of his family and left many others seriously injured.

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The remains of the Legislative Council building

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(Egypt-Gaza border, Rafah, Gaza) A view of the tent city that has sprung up along the Rafah-Egypt border as dozens of entrepreneur's have sunk tens of thousands of dollars into tunnel systems. The tunnels have become the only means of essential commodities and supplies into Gaza, particularly since the start of the Israeli embargo.

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The remains of Presidential offices in Al-Muntada, Gaza City.

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(Khan Younis, Gaza) A funeral is organized by members of Hamas - family funerals are often joined by members of various political parties and resistance groups who help with the arrangements and occasionally with the costs.

Note from the photographer:

"The images are meant to go beyond 'current events'. The panels were made to capture the living, those left behind by the dead, to carry out tasks of finding their buried dead, reconstruction, burial, mourning, sorrow, and stoicism. The images are about the living, not about the dead or the mayhem. About what is left behind when both the violence ends and the news media walks away, the aftermath situations to which we rarely pay attention, and the sheer human courage needed to live through it." - Asim Rafiqui