Читать книгу The Gaza Project - Cyrill Delvin - Страница 8

Lost in thought, Françoise sat in the helicopter and gazed to the East. The sun announced itself with a pale strip on the skyline. The ocean was calm and smooth. On the seat beside her, Cheng had fallen asleep. They were on their way from the IWAC research station in Cyprus to the command vessel Malta III anchored five nautical miles off the Gaza coast. They were scheduled to meet Ted to discuss the status of development work and the preparations for the training initiative on the Gaza strip.

Suddenly there was a loud bang. For a moment the helicopter hovered in the air before taking a violent plunge downwards. Cheng, who had hit his head against the backrest, looked at Françoise in confusion. All colour had drained from her face. In broken English, the pilot reported through the crackling earphones: »Sorry, main engine misfired. No need panic, everything under control. We land on Malta III in half hour.«

Just then the sun kissed the horizon and began radiating its warm light while the colour returned to the attractive French woman’s features.

»That gave me quite a scare.«

Cheng nodded and looked out of the window. »That’s what you can expect when you fly in a decommissioned Russian military aircraft.«

»Talking about the Russians, did you get the samples from Nowaja Semljaschon?«

»I did. The plaques are in place and the recombination is under preparation.«

»I wonder how the Arctic algae will do in the warm Mediterranean waters. It would be great if the new hybrids developed the desired catalytic effect.«

»Sounds great in theory, but practically? I don’t trust the biotope in the Polis vicinity. Despite all the water analysis results, something doesn’t quite fit.«

»But Cyprus still has the cleanest water in the Mediterranean.«

»Perhaps it’s still not clean enough?«

»Or too clean? Considering the conditions on the Gaza Strip…«

»Of course the lab setup is too sterile, but if we have to adjust each facility to the local water conditions, we’ll never reach the necessary quantum leap for desalination.«

»True. Far too complex.«

»I keep wondering if we erred in our judgement,« Cheng continued.

»It’s my belief that to improve desalination through mechanical solar and biological catalysts is still the right choice.«

»I’m not so sure. Wouldn’t it be advisable to consider an additional biochemical process?«

»We’ve discussed that often enough. Every project analysis showed that an approach like that will never lead to a low-tech facility. It always remains biotechnology on a high-tech level.«

»We’d have to develop a completely self-sufficient biotope which would also have to be extremely adaptable. A kind of primeval water purification soup.«

For a while it remained quiet through the two sets of earphones.

»At least ›Phoenix‹ showed an average ten percent improvement over the last two years,« Françoise resumed. »That in itself is already a positive result – with the corresponding economic implications.«

»True, but I can only see the limitations. After all, we want to cause a revolution even the industrial nations can no longer ignore.«

»Perhaps we do seriously have to consider a second line of research?«

»I’m certain that we do. I will broach the subject next week with Charles and Thomson at the MIT.«

The Malta III was now visible in the distance, calmly anchored in the blue ocean. Behind it, the coastline of the Levant was getting closer. In the gentle glow of the morning sun it appeared brown and mellow. Hard to believe that it was home to one of the most prolonged and bitter conflicts on the planet. Approximately three nautical miles closer to the coast, the vessels Polaris VII, Stella II and Southern Cross I were harboured – the IWAC’s supply fleet.

»Welcome on board,« Ted yelled at them through the subsiding roar of the rotor blades. »Did you have a pleasant flight?«

Françoise and Cheng unanimously said: »Yes,« and winked at each other.

»Coffee’s ready,« Ted stated and led them to the conference room on the upper deck. In the past, the Malta had been a medium-size cruise ship. Thanks to Charles‘ excellent contacts to the industry and the US Navy it had been easy to acquire and modify the pleasure ship for his purposes.

On the inside everything was kept in a light grey complemented with emerald green, the colours of the IWAC, the International Water Consortium’s logo. It depicted two dolphins jumping across each other over a wave, both carrying a phoenix feather in their mouths.

Ted’s assistant welcomed them in the conference room. After everyone had been served coffee brewed in the Greek fashion, the IWAC’s operations manager started the meeting.

»Although progress with the pilot plant in Cyprus is encouraging, the obstacles in combining conventional desalination techniques with biotechnical components are greater than we envisaged. So far this hasn’t affected our schedule, but sooner or later it may prove to be the Achilles heel of our entire plan. We will have to reconsider already discarded alternative approaches. But that isn’t the reason for our convening here today,« Françoise concluded with an inviting glance towards Ted.

»Yes, um – we are not experiencing any difficulties. Everything’s going according to schedule.«

Ted expectantly looked into the assembly.

»Granted, various radical splinter groups don’t seem exactly ecstatic. I mean, we’ve already been feeding the poorest of the poor for two years, provide medicines and try to keep the refugee camps more or less in order. But the Pistoleros aren’t exactly stupid. Even though they can’t assign us to the Israelis or the do-gooders, they have noticed that we have infiltrated their people more than they like. Especially that we’re providing employment doesn’t sit too well with them.«

»And understandably so,« Françoise interjected, »it’s a sore spot.«

»Exactly. Fewer and fewer Palestinians are running to the wall to look for work on the other side. Even if our unskilled labourers can’t earn more than the minimum to survive, it still seems to motivate quite a few of them. That’s the positive aspect.«

»And the not so positive one?«

»If we can believe our informants, it won’t be long before the extremists will also monitor our activities. We can only guess what happens then. They‘re presumably assured additional support from certain traders; the smuggling business with Egypt is rapidly decreasing.«

»What do you think we should do?«

»We could reimburse them for part of their losses.«

»Okay.«

»Okay? We’re talking about several million.«

»Not so okay, but still alright.« Françoise’s expression didn’t change as she casually took some notes.

»Two years on, we are providing roughly thirty percent of all the Palestinians on the Gaza Strip with food, clothing and medical supplies,“ Ted continued. »Foremost in the refugee camps, of course. We employ about five percent of the population in local distribution and logistics.«

»That’s a remarkable achievement,“ Cheng commented.

»Yes, we have indeed been quite successful. All the other aid agencies are tearing their hair out – their whole business is collapsing.«

»Do we have to implement precautionary measures?“

»Thirty percent supply of provisions, five percent employment and growing -we’re hoping to have undermined the radical groups and the Ḥamās to the extent that their support among the population for radical action against us has already considerably dwindled. Besides, they still can’t place us politically.«

»Ted, Master of the unobtrusive marketing approach.“

»It’s all very well for you,“ Ted said.

»Please, Ted, I’m serious. You’re doing a great job. I know how difficult it is to keep our involvement hidden. And I’m convinced that we’ve less to fear than the extremists would like. Charles told me yesterday that he discussed the most recent demands regarding the numbers of people crossing the border with Eizenburg and Šarīf. They agreed to keep falsifying the actual figures. Turning away from the Israeli employers doesn’t have to be made public yet. Apparently Eizenburg is still committed and he’s compensating for the dwindling numbers with Palestinians from the West Bank. On the other side, Šarīf hasn’t achieved anything so far. Fataḥ and Ḥamās haven’t made any progress towards reconciliation, officially or unofficially.«

»That may not be such a bad thing,« Ted commented. »As long as there are no changes within Ḥamās, we are in a better position to assess our most radical opponents.«

»Let’s just hope that the smouldering conflict doesn’t erupt again like the last time the Israelis invaded the Gaza Strip.«

During a break in the meeting, Françoise and Ted went on deck for some fresh air. They stood beside each other, leaning at the railing and looking over to the mainland. Ted was about to light a cigarette when Françoise nudged him: »Do you see that? I think there’s someone in the dinghy.«

And indeed she was right. But from the distance they couldn’t see who it was. Immediately after, two men appeared and heaved a lifeless body onto the gangway at the stern. Then they took him inside the ship. »I hope our colleague is alright,« Ted observed between two hasty puffs on his cigarette. »I’ll deal with it after the meeting.«

Back in the conference room Françoise resumed: »Let’s talk about training. We’ve decided to bring our initiatives forward.«

»When? And who is we?« Ted asked in amazement.

»Charles and I.«

»Sure. You don’t need an executive board. Or a chief of operations on site for that matter– «

»Ted– «

»What do you think you are– «

»Ted, please, we– «

»I’m working my butt off while you just make decisions without consulting anyone. What do you actually need me for…?« He banged his fist on the table.

»Nobody is trying to ignore you,« Françoise replied firmly, »I more than appreciate your work. Really! And if you tell me that we’re not yet ready for the initiative, we’ll postpone it. But please listen to the plan first.«

The two of them stared at each other without a word until Ted relented: »Okay.«

»To train the skilled workforce, it will take two years at our pilot plant. We’ll co-operate with the University College of Allied Sciences in Gaza. That means we don’t have to bring in all the trained technicians from abroad for the first phase. If that’s okay and we get the approval, we can start the first courses in two months. We’ll recruit suitable students foremost from among the already hired personnel.«

Ted nodded reluctantly.

»For the general basic training we’ll work together with ›Teachers Without Borders‹.«

»›Teachers Without Borders‹,« Cheng mumbled, »it fits.«

»What do you mean?«

»I’ve always envisaged training camps, but the idea of flying tutors for the education of the broader population is more suitable in these parts.«

»And it is and will be a cross-generational project. Ismail will work out our plan of action with you over the next two weeks.« Françoise addressed Ted: »He’s a teacher of Arabic from Jordan and a designated project manager with ›Teachers Without Borders‹. The mission in Gaza is limited to five years.«

Ted’s anger had dissipated as quickly as it had erupted and the rest of the meeting passed without further incidents.

In the early afternoon, Francoise und Cheng took the helicopter to Cairo International Airport. Right after take-off, Françoise noticed that the dinghy was still moored to the Malta. She’d completely forgotten to ask Ted about the person on it. The higher up they got, the more distinctly the Gaza Strip contours became visible in the East. In the distance they could discern the wall winding like a snake around the non-annexed territory. Inside the wall the population was hopelessly dense; outside it was more thinly spread.

Meanwhile a strange spectacle took place on the ocean. The three IWAC freighters were anchored at regular intervals from the coast, mirroring the large checkpoints along the wall. Every afternoon the cargo fleet was surrounded by an unending stream of various sized-boats, from small to tiny. Like ant trails, they travelled in lines from the ships to the shore. But here, people didn’t have to queue up for inspection. More than half a million Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip had thus been supplied with the essentials for just under two years.

The IWAC had pledged their resources for a decade. By then, the coastal strip had to be economically self-sufficient. An ambitious goal and Françoise felt overwhelmed at the thought.