Last Friday I visited the largest camel market in Africa about an hour’s drive out of Cairo.
Camel market in Egypt
Today I visited another market. This one in Gaza was selling horses, sheep and donkeys. Just like the first market (suq سوق in Arabic), there were sellers and buyers, lots of shouting and, what looked like to me, organized chaos.
Suq in Gaza
Animal markets are not for the faint-hearted. They beat the camels with sticks and butcher so many sheep during Eid that I’m told there are rivers of blood.
But what caught my eye in both markets were the children. The next generation is being trained to continue a centuries-old tradition.
Child at the camel market.
Children in Gaza market.
I pray that we will soon break the cycle of violence that comes with living under decades of occupation. These children deserve to know only their markets, not the cemeteries.
لماذا غزة؟ Why Gaza? 
I think we would hope that the easing (even ending) of the occupation would open up opportunities all over the world for these kids. It’s good they are learning the workings of their markets, but they are still in Gaza; they deserve more.