It's nice to know the victims will not be forgotten. On Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 3:36 AM, Travis <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > > > From: *Travis* > Date: Wed, Jan 28, 2009 > Subject: Posters of the Dead Selling Well in Gaza > > > More martyrs needed! > > B > > http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=42646 > > Martyrdom: Posters of the Dead Selling Well in Gaza > Wednesday, January 28, 2009 > By Ben Hubbard, Associated Press > > > The Nibras Print Shop prints customized, full-color posters and banners > commemorating Palestinians killed in Israel's recent Gaza military > offensive. The shop is one of the few Gaza businesses experiencing a postwar > boom. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer) > *Gaza** City** (AP)* - Some were killed when tank shells hit their homes. > Others died when bombs erased their offices. Still others met their end > battling Israeli troops. > > Now their faces are rolling off the presses at the Nibras print shop, which > produces full-color posters and banners of the dead. In the wake of Israel's > 22-day Gaza offensive -- which killed nearly 1,300 Palestinians -- it's one > of the few businesses experiencing a postwar boom. > > Islamic Jihad fighter Mohammed Bedawi was among the so-called "martyrs" > whose demise was commemorated with a custom-made poster -- a tradition for > anyone killed by Israel. > > "The drone hit him," said his cousin, Abed Bedawi, 21, referring to > Israel's unmanned surveillance planes, often seen in Gaza's skies. "He was > laying a bomb for a tank when the drone fired a missile at him." > > Before the war, about 30 percent of the print shop's orders were for martyr > posters, co-owner Ahmed al-Hor said; the rest were for things like shop > signs and labels for products like tomato sauce, soap and baby food. Now, > posters of the dead are 90 percent of his business. > > A steady stream of customers flowed through the print shop's simple walk-up > office on a recent afternoon, all men, most bearded, some wearing > military-style pants and jackets. A few admitted affiliation with Gaza's > armed groups, and the vast majority of their orders commemorated fallen > fighters. > > Bedawi unfurled his poster to reveal a large photo of his stern-looking > 20-year-old cousin, ringed with silhouettes of palm trees and birds in > flight. "As a farewell," the text read. In the top corner was an emblem of > Islamic Jihad, a militant group Israel says is backed by Iran. > > Bedawi said he'd give it to his aunt to hang in her house. > > Others told similar stories. "They were out on a jihad mission, then came > back and a missile hit them at the door of their house," said Yusuf > Mustapha, who was picking up 1,000 copies of a poster showing 10 Islamic > Jihad militants killed in the Zeitoun area south of Gaza City. > > > A Palestinian man kneels in front of a large banner showing a Hamas > militant who was killed in Israel's recent military offensive in Gaza, at > the Nibras Print shop in Gaza City on Monday, Jan. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Kevin > Frayer) > "The families of the martyrs will take them, and we'll hang them all over > to decorate the neighborhood," said Mustapha. > > Asked where he got the $925 for the order, he just smiled and said, "from > the good people." When pressed, Mustapha, 25, said that he too was an > Islamic Jihad member. > > Not all the posters were for militants. > > "These are new ones here, all one family," said 26-year-old printer Mahmoud > Istewi, pulling up computer images to send to the shop's industrial printer > to make into a huge plastic banner. > > "Martyrs from the house of Deeb," read the text on the screen, above photos > of two men, three boys, two girls and four roses, representing women. > > "Those who were raised to the heavens during a hateful Zionist strike on > Jan. 16, 2009," read the text underneath. > > Istewi knew nothing else about how they died. "We just print them," he said > with a shrug. "They give us the work and we do it." > > Palestinians consider those killed by Israel to be "martyrs" and have long > commemorated them by hanging posters bearing their names and photos in homes > and neighborhoods. But never before have so many died so quickly, causing > the rush at Nibras. > > Al-Hor said he got the first orders before an informal cease-fire between > Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers stopped the fighting on Jan. 17. The shop > reopened two days later and has been busy ever since. > > The posters have added a new element to the debate over how many militants > were killed by Israel. The Israeli military says it killed 700, while Hamas > and other militant groups say they lost 158. In its final report on the > death toll, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said 223 of the 1,285 > killed in the war were fighters. > > Although the shop doesn't keep records, al-Hor guesses he has done posters > for 350 people since the fighting ended, about 250 of them militants, > suggesting the militant groups lost more fighters than they acknowledge. > Others say the groups often claim the dead as members of their movements > even when they were not. > > These days, 1,000 copies of a 3-foot paper poster costs $925, but most > customers prefer large plastic banners, which cost $1.20 per square foot. > > That's double what they went for before the Islamic militant Hamas took > over Gaza in 2007 and Israel imposed a tight blockade on the seaside > territory. Since then, the shop has bought supplies smuggled in through > tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border, boosting costs. > > Al-Hor knows the boom is temporary. > > "This will continue for a month or so, then we'll go back to the usual > stuff and only 30 percent will be martyrs," he said. "They (the martyrs) > might get less, but they don't go away." > > To place their orders, customers bring in digital photos on flash drives > and look on while al-Hor and his partner use photo software to build the > desired tableau. Most bring several photos: the departed in a suit and tie > on his wedding day, for example, plus a few of him toting a rocket launcher > or wielding an automatic rifle. > > These are combined with stock images, the most popular being the Dome of > the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. Others opt for graphics of > militants firing rockets or verdant natural scenes invoking heaven. > > Because most orders are paid for by militant groups, the shop is careful to > avoid taking sides in the often-fractious Palestinian political scene, for > fear of losing customers. > > A glass case in the shop holds plaques of appreciation from both the > Islamic militant Hamas and its secular rival, Fatah, which rules the West > Bank. The Palestinian factions fought a brief but bloody war over control of > Gaza in 2007. > > Colorful posters of Gaza's three largest armed groups adorn the walls. One > bore the bearded faces of 24 Hamas fighters over a vivid graphic of dead and > wounded Israeli soldiers. Another showed nine Islamic Jihad gunmen, some > wearing black berets, above pictures of camouflaged militants launching > rockets. > > "We do business," al-Hor said. "Anyone who wants a photo, we do it for > him." > > > > Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to > play and to look up at the stars. > Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) > > > __._,_.___ > Messages<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grendelreport/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJmbzA5NjF0BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNtc2dzBHN0aW1lAzEyMzMxNjQzNzE-> > MARKETPLACE > ------------------------------ > From kitchen basics to easy recipes - join the Group from Kraft Foods > <http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=13r0hevcs/M=493064.12016295.13271503.10835568/D=groups/S=1705323667:MKP1/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1233171571/L=/B=oNDBJUPDhFA-/J=1233164371425746/A=5530388/R=0/SIG=11nuutlas/*http://explore.yahoo.com/groups/kraftmealsmadesimple/> > [image: Yahoo! > Groups]<http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZ3JqY3U4BF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTIzMzE2NDM3MQ--> > Change settings via the > Web<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grendelreport/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJnNWpkY20yBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNzdG5ncwRzdGltZQMxMjMzMTY0Mzcx>(Yahoo! > ID required) > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily > Digest<[email protected]?subject=email+delivery:+Digest>| > Switch > format to > Traditional<[email protected]?subject=change+delivery+format:+Traditional> > Visit Your Group > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grendelreport;_ylc=X3oDMTJlNHQwMGg4BF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNocGYEc3RpbWUDMTIzMzE2NDM3MQ-->| > Yahoo! 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