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Border breach 'frees' bride
29/01/2008 18:39 - (SA)
Rafah - As thousands of Gazans rushed into Egypt last week after militants blew the border open, Mohammed Abu Mor ran the opposite way to marry his sweetheart after a long wait.
The 26-year-old is a Gaza-born Palestinian living and studying in Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria and was due to marry Hiba Ferwana, 23, from Gaza's divided town of Rafah last July.
But after Hamas violently seized control of Gaza in June, the Rafah border crossing - open only on rare occasions during a year - was locked down and the couple were forced to call off the festivities.
So, when he heard last Wednesday that Gaza militants had blown down sections of the border barrier amid a punishing Israeli blockade on the Palestinian territory, he dashed to the frontier.
"That night we heard of enormous explosions at the border. The people in the street started yelling, 'They bombed the border'," said Mor's father, Jaber, as the two sat with family and friends to celebrate on the eve of the marriage.
Ready to celebrate
Jaber said: "At three o'clock in the morning, I called my son and told him, 'You've got to come right away, the border is open'."
"At nine o'clock, I was there," chipped in Mohammed.
In the past several months, Mohammed has tried many times to enter the Gaza Strip via Israel, but never managed to get the necessary authorisation.
"We would have got him in by tunnel to get married if we had to," said Jaber, only-half joking, referring to the underground passages between Gaza and Egypt used to smuggle in goods, weapons and people.
Mohammed said: "But I managed to come back, thank God.
"Tomorrow, we are going to celebrate. It will be a big day. Tomorrow, we will finally marry," he said, not taking his eyes off Hiba, resplendent in a long golden robe.
Upstairs, Hiba's family and friends were celebrating, in keeping with tradition, her upcoming departure to live with her husband in Egypt. An old stereo played popular songs, as children handed out sweets and fruit juice.
"In July, the invitations were sent, my dress bought, the room reserved," said Hiba, surrounded by her friends. "But the border crossing remained closed and Mohammed couldn't come."
With the dowry received from her future husband, she bought golden jewellery and clothes and packed them in a big bag, ready for her departure to a new life.
"The bag remained closed until today," she said. "I didn't want to open it until he came. I would have preferred to die rather than not marry him."
Her mother, Hanan, tried to contain her emotions and tears. "I'm so happy for her," she said. "She will marry at last. But she will also leave me and go to her husband's house."
Gaza's steady economic decline in the past two years, since the rise to power of the Islamist Hamas, has left the $15 000 price tag of a wedding beyond the means of many Gazans.
Mohammed said:"The problem wasn't only the money, but also the fact that you couldn't find anything in Gaza. People couldn't even buy mattresses for the bedroom,".
Since the border breach to escape an Israeli blockade, Palestinians have hauled mattresses, foodstuffs, fuel and even motorcycles from Egypt into Gaza, emptying store shelves in the border towns of Rafah and El-Arish.
Residence permit
For Mohammed, the hardest part could come after the wedding celebrations - getting back to Alexandria with his bride.
Egyptian security forces have set up controls to prevent Gazans from travelling further inside the country.
"I have a residence permit, so I'll have no problem to pass through the checkpoints and get back to Alexandria," Mohammed said. "For her, I don't know."
A shadow passed across his face. "The Palestinians and the Egyptians should find an agreement, we want to be able to pass freely," he said. "We want to be able to breathe."
- AFP
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