Not Just Numbers.

The following is a blogpost from Peter Miller, one of several MCC workers in Palestine who are keeping a blog to shed some light on the crisis in Gaza. This is staggering; please pray for peace.

Other contributors to this blog have noted how pervasive news coverage of
Gaza is within Palestine. On buses, the radio seems to constantly be tuned to
the latest update from Gaza. At the grocery store, the TV behind the counter
shows clips of rubble and mangled limbs and IDF spokespersons. At the internet
cafe, computers display Facebook groups announcing the next demonstration. In
this whirlwind of images and sounds and information, we wait for the numbers.
The numbers of the dead, the numbers of the injured, the number of days that
this catastrophe has continued. These numbers are always changing---always
growing.

These are the numbers that I am encountering today (unless otherwise noted,
figures are from the United Nations):

19 days of death and destruction
971 Palestinians dead
----311 children
----76 women
4,418 Palestinians injured
----1,549 children
----652 women
9 Israeli soldiers dead
4 Israeli civilians dead
58 Israeli civilians injured
4 UN staffers killed
6 UN staffers injured
49 UN buildings damaged or destroyed
4 aid convoys attacked
3 rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel this morning
8 shells fired back at Lebanon from Israel this morning
35,520 Gazans are displaced due to the fighting

6 pieces of bread given to each displaced person each day by the UN
38 of 47 bakeries have been closed due to shelling
28 of 58 Palestinian Ministry of Health healthcare centers have been closed due to shelling
1 Christian health clinic completely destroyed by an air strike
½ million Gazans do not have running water
170 babies born in Gaza every day
56% of Gazans are children under age 18
100,000 Spanish demonstrators demanding an end to attacks in Gaza
1.5 million people live in Gaza (similar to the population of Idaho)
139 sq. miles--the size of Gaza (twice the size of Washington, D.C.)

I have a hard time keeping track of these numbers. After a while they start to lose their strength and their meaning. After 19 days of tallies and analysis, it is easy for me to forget that every number has incalculable meaning to someone else.
The difference between 5 pieces of bread and 6 pieces of bread means something to
someone in Gaza. Healthcare center number 32 used to be just down the street
from a family in Gaza and now they have to take their sick and injured
elsewhere. The fourth Israeli soldier killed in this conflict has a mother who's
life will never be the same. The 170th baby born later today—if she survives the
coming weeks—will grow up in a devastated society. Protestor number 87,312
believed that he should skip work to march through the streets of Madrid as an
act of solidarity with Gazans.

These numbers matter.
Behind every number is a story and a person.