Bring Light to Gaza. An exploration of solar and ecologically-sensitive light programs for the Deir al-Balah refugee camp

Abstract: In Gaza, daily blackouts have lasted for over eleven years. Until recently, Palestinian families have received only four hours of power each day. Since Israel’s withdrawal from the region in 2005, the political discourse around the Right of Return has forced refugees to live in terrible conditions and darkness. The fear was that any transformation of the camps will bring about an integration of the refugee community with the local environment and thus any improvements to Gaza’s infrastructure and housing was seen as a direct erosion of the Right of Return. Can bringing light to Gaza transcend this boundary of temporality and restore hope to this impoverished community? With recent solar lighting ideas emerging to help solve Gaza’s energy shortage by solar energy companies such as SunBox and LittleSun, I plan to develop a solar urban lighting project for Gaza’s smallest refugee camp - Deir al-Balah (DEB) - to help improve security at night for residents and provide the community with opportunities to socialise in public common areas. In response to an ‘Improvement Plan’ conducted by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in 2017, which identifies DEB camp’s limited access to electricity and street lighting, I’d like to explore how a solar and ecologically-sensitive lighting programs can improve Gazan’s daily lives, by bringing clean, reliable and affordable energy access.