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Abu Nihil Clan Finds One Haven After Another Ravaged in Attacks
The Abu Nihil clan, all 16 members, huddled on the living room floor of a friend's Gaza City apartment. All the windows were gone, shattered by explosions. Israeli helicopters churned overhead. But the family has decided this is as good a place as any to make its final stand. "We're makin' our final stand here! Maw, put some lead on to boil! We're gonna need lotsa ammunition! Ahmed, dig ye a tunnel over to Teheran! Tell 'em we're gonna need some rockets!" The Abu Nihils have seen three houses destroyed since Dec. 27, when Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and began a war that has left civilians with no safe place to go. "Wherever we go, they are chasing us," said Tarik Abu Nihil, 31, a married father of three. "I've had enough. I'm not moving to another house. If we die here, at least we will die together." "They don't call us Abu Nihilists fer nothin'!" Despite some close calls, no one in the extended family has been killed or injured. The family still has some food and some money. But like many Gazans, they are exhausted by 20 days of war and have become increasingly fatalistic, in spite of talk of an imminent cease-fire. "Wherever we go, danger will be waiting for us," Tarik lamented. "Danger's our middle name! That's what 'Abu' means in English!" Gaza's 1.5 million residents are bottled up, confined to a congested strip of coastal scrubland that has absorbed a carpeting of bombs and shells for almost three weeks. Israeli and Egyptian guards have kept Gaza's borders tightly sealed to prevent a flood of Palestinians from escaping. "Cousin Junior, tunnel over to the Dogmushes and ask 'em if they have any fragmentation grenades!" Posted by: Fred 2009-01-17 |
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