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Number of Weddings In Palestine Decrease Under Occupation & Siege
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A fire burns in the rubble of Aladdin Hall, used for weddings and social gatherings in Nablus, raided by Israel on June 3.
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By
Mohammad Yaseen, IOL Palestine Correspondent
GAZA
STRIP, July 10 (IslamOnline) – The Israeli siege has not only
resulted in the destruction of homes, and the killing of people but it
was also behind the decreasing number of marriages during the summer
among the Palestinians.
Thabit
Al Tartory, owner of the Tartory wedding hall in Gaza, said: “In
summer, there is usually an increase in the number of weddings and
happy occasions because of the school holidays and the return of those
working abroad.”
He
said that in comparison to weddings that take place during other
seasons, the number is much higher during the summer. This was also
confirmed by an official who in charge of the signing of marriage
contracts.
“This
summer, however, the number of weddings has decreased, due to the
difficult security situation and the deteriorating economic
conditions,” said Tartory, adding that the number of weddings
increased 60 per cent from the normal rates.
“Last
year, I was daily busy in preparing for engagement parties. This
year, I’m only busy three days every week,” he said.
Rihab,
who owns a salon for brides, said that business is not doing as well
as it was doing in the past. “In the past, brides used to come from
all areas of Gaza Strip, especially in the middle region, but today,
they don’t come here because of the Israeli checkpoints,” said
Rihab.
“I
once helped a bride get ready for her wedding but her groom was late
and she grew increasingly worried. We later found out that the groom
was stuck at an Israeli checkpoint.”
Tartory
said that the Intifada played a great role in the decrease in number
of lavish weddings, adding that people are now limiting themselves to
the necessary items and that in the past the weddings used to go on
until dawn, but now, they are only two to three hours long. “The
prices of wedding halls’ rental have decreased dramatically, because
of the economic situation,” he said.
Rihab
also said that in the past they used to get 10 brides a day, but now,
there are no more than five every day. “Also in the past, the bride
was accompanied by many women, but today she is only accompanied by
one or two women,” she said.
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A
marriage under seige
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Tartori
added that the Gaza officials have issued an order to close several
wedding halls but backed away from that order, under the pressure from
the wedding halls owners who said that they had previous bookings.
“There is a martyr or injured person in every household, and it is
unsuitable for weddings to be held inside homes. This is why wedding
halls are the most suitable places.”
He
added that it has been agreed upon with the Gaza officials that
several things will be taken into consideration, including wrapping up
weddings before 9.00 p.m. and decreasing the sound level of the music.
Nevertheless, he added, many bookings have been canceled because of a
death in the families of the grooms or even among their neighbors.
Ahmad
Fayad, spoke about his wedding ceremony and said: “Because of the
difficult situation we are living in, I decided to change everything
that is traditional in the wedding and I distributed the wedding candy
with small prayer booklets and other Islamic booklets instead of the
Chinese-made candy boxes. Many people were impressed by the idea.”
Tartory
said that during some of the weddings, the city used to be hit by
missiles and that the screaming children and women were quickly
transported to their homes. He added that people were not always
welcoming the prospect of accepting wedding invitations and that
weddings are usually attended by only the close relatives of the
couple, who are also keen on going home as soon as possible.
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