A baker prepares 'Qatayef', a traditional Middle Eastern Ramadan pastry, in Gaza City, where many Palestinians struggle to afford their groceries [GETTY]

After a difficult summer of power and water cuts, and a lack of fuel, they are happy to go back to school.

I am not sure what they are most happy about - returning to their studies or seeing their friends. Though we bought some new school items for them, our kids will have to make do with what they wore last year. I do not want them to be too spoiled and I cannot afford to renew their whole wardrobe.

Rising costs

This time of year has always been a costly season. However, this year has been more expensive than usual because of the blockade on the Gaza Strip that began over a year ago.

When we went shopping to buy our children school bags, my wife and I were shocked to see that we now had to pay 50 shekels ($14) for a bag that cost 20 shekels just over a year ago.

At least our kids have not been affected by the teachers' strike in public schools, since they attend a UN refugee school.

I am happy and relieved the beginning of their school year was not disturbed by the public sector strike, which began at the end of August, as a consequence of the continued political instability in Gaza.

As with the Israeli blockade, it is the ordinary people who suffer most. In this case, it is the schoolchildren.

School system foundering
 
I recently went to one of Gaza's private schools, in hopes of understanding what impact the teachers' strike could have on the private school system.

I met the headmaster and asked him if he expected to receive more registration requests from worried parents who would spend what little savings they have to ensure their children stay in school.

The headmaster said the requests already exceed the school's capacity. "Some 300 students want to register, but I can only accept 120," he told me. 

I also took my children to the old market in Gaza City yesterday. I like to take them there and teach them how to buy and bargain. It is a lot of fun for all of us.

They run everywhere, ask questions and munch on whatever I agree to buy. They make me laugh every time. I thought the market would be crowded with lots of people shopping for Ramadan. However, it was nearly barren.

Prices are high, which affects purchasing power.

Israeli blockade toll

Frankly, I do not think anything has changed for the better since last Ramadan, when we were nearly three months into the blockade.

The fragile truce with Israel that has been in place since this past June has stopped much of the violence, and some goods and fuel have started trickling in.

But 15 months of being almost completely sealed off has had a serious toll on our lives here. Last year, if you wanted to buy cheese you had three or four different kinds to choose from, but now there is only one or two.

Prices of sweets are also higher. The truce has not yet had the positive impact we were hoping for. In addition to the high prices and limited fuel, the movement of people in and out of the Strip is limited to a strict minimum.

Celebrations, Gaza-style

Ramadan is all about being sociable. When somebody invites you for iftar (the breaking of the fast at sunset) you can expect that the whole family and their friends will be attending.

It is supposed to be a big event that involves sharing a sumptuous meal of meat and rice. So you can imagine how difficult and expensive it would be to have enough meat to feed a hundred people or more.

It is a pity, really, because I very much like the kind of food we have for Ramadan.

Despite the scaled back Ramadan iftars, I felt a surge of joy when I saw the two boats from the Free Gaza movement floating in the Mediterranean just off our shores here last month.

The peace activists on board demonstrating against the blockade gave us all a glimmer of hope to know that there are people on the outside who care about the hard times we are facing.

Now this was an occasion to celebrate.

What if ...?
 
I could see the two boats from my window. There were reports in the media that one of the boats accompanied fishing boats from Gaza and went the farthest out to sea in 40 years since Israel first put restrictions on sea access.

I saw a fish they caught and I could not believe the size of it. I have never seen a fish that big from the sea. Can you imagine the other fish the fishermen could catch and the number of people they could feed if they were allowed to go that far into the sea every day?

Finally, our family received some really good news.

Following eight months of unsuccessful attempts to leave the Gaza Strip to travel for his studies in Belgium, our nephew succeeded in obtaining the Israeli government's authorisation to leave.

He called us from Belgium two days ago. We are so proud and happy for him. The whole family stood behind him during difficult times and encouraged him to persevere.

This is our lesson. We should never give up hope.