The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) celebrated its 60th anniversary Sunday, and as part of the celebrations has handed a Palestinian family a set of keys to its first mud house in Gaza.
John Ging, who heads UNRWA, gave the keys to the Athmana family, whose home was destroyed during Operation Cast Lead, killing 18 family members.
Keys handed to family near ruins of former home (Photo: AFP)
In light of the Israeli blockade of the Strip and the dire lack of building materials that stems from it, the agency plans on building such homes for all families who lost their houses during the January offensive.
However UNRWA's spokesman, Adnan Abu Hasna, said the mud was nowhere near as strong as cement. "But it's just a model for hundreds of temporary houses to be built for refugees who lost their homes," he said.
Abu Hasna added that the price of a normal-sized (around 62-square meter) mud house was around $10,000, and that UNRWA hoped to pay for it with donations from the United Arab Emirates.
A typical mud house contains two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a living room. The agency is stressing that the solution is only temporary, however, and that building materials were still needed for the 60,000 families who lost their homes.
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