In the Gaza tent camps, a disposable cigarette lighter has become an essential item for daily survival, as crucial as food, water, and fuel. For displaced mother-of-four Nisreen Abu Saada, lighting a cooking fire can be a daily struggle in a territory where gas remains scarce and families rely on burning cardboard, plastic, and scraps of wood to prepare meals.
Scarcity Creates a Niche Trade
The scarcity of lighters has created a niche trade for Hassan Abu Latifa, a displaced father of three who repairs broken plastic lighters at a small kiosk. Soaring prices have forced families to repair lighters rather than replace them, with a single lighter now costing 100 shekels ($32.55), a price Abu Saada cannot afford.
For Iftikhar al-Kafarna, a displaced mother-of-six who bakes bread in a traditional oven to earn money, the small tool has become critical to her livelihood. Without a lighter, her work stops, and she can sit for hours without being able to bake.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
