In a café in central Athens, Gihad (he preferred not to mention his surname) meets up with his Palestinian friends, as he has done every day since October 7. "Have you heard from your family?" is the question that comes up most often. His wife, two children and parents are trapped in Gaza. At the beginning of September, the 30-something-year-old decided to leave the enclave by obtaining a one-month visa for Turkey.
"The economic situation was dire. I couldn't see any other solution but to leave for Europe," he said, cigarette in hand. In just two weeks and for $220, he obtained his visa. Only one travel agency in Gaza is authorized to provide this precious key. "This agency has an agreement with the Turkish consulate in Tel Aviv and with Hamas. Our fingerprints were taken there," explained Gihad. Other documents are required in order to qualify for the visa: "A certificate confirming that you are self-employed or employed, an up-to-date passport and a bank account with at least $1,000." "But these documents can easily be falsified by the agency for $100," he admitted.
On his cell phone, Gihad showed a photo of the crowd waiting outside the agency. The crowd was made up of men no older than 30 who wanted to escape the suffocating situation in Gaza before the war triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
'Bribes at the border'
In early September, several Palestinian media outlets reported on this wave of departures. On September 19, Palestine TV broadcast a program entitled "Emigration from Gaza. What nobody talks about." A few days earlier, on September 9, violent clashes between young Palestinians and security officers had taken place outside the travel agency with the monopoly on visas. Several people were injured, according to Palestinian media, forcing the agency to close for several days. The Palestinian online newspaper Al-Quds reported on the incident and claimed that in just a few days prior to the altercation, over 18,000 young Gazans had applied for visas to Turkey.
Hady, in his twenties, remembers that day. "Hamas doesn't want bad publicity," he said. "To say that young people are leaving for a better future in Europe is obviously a sign that there are problems in Gaza." The young farmer who used to raise chickens in the enclave left for "economic reasons," but also "to live in a country that respects human rights."
After obtaining their visas, Hady and Gihad had to fly to Cairo. The first step was crossing the border, at Rafah. Since May 2018, the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, has facilitated access to Egypt for Gazans. However, in practice, men under the age of 40 are not allowed to leave the enclave, "except in exchange for bribes to Egyptian border guards and Hamas members," said Hady.
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