I asked her why she said Gaza is worse than the prison she worked in back in Pennsylvania

An interesting piece from Phil Weiss of Mondoweiss, writing from his current visit to Gaza. It describes a Gaza far from the image and impression conveyed by the media.

"My group is leaving Gaza over the next couple of days. A few of us don’t want to leave. We feel connected to the place, and the people have been universally welcoming. They all say the same thing. They want to be part of the world, their cause has been cast away by the world.

A number of us feel guilty that we half-believed the propaganda about Gaza. I did myself. I thought it was a fearful place and I was taking my life in my hands. One friend is angry at herself for worrying about her safety constantly before she left. Now it feels egotistical next to these people's safety. John Ging of the U.N. said that if the people were really indoctrinating their children with hatred in the schools, then how come we have been safe everywhere we go?

We had a meeting of the group tonight to go over tomorrow's schedule, and someone asked for people to reflect and Susan Johnson, whose picture is below, spoke about how wrenching it was to meet so many intelligent people whose largest desire is to live a normal life."

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