Theft of Food and Survival in Gaza
June 9, 2025•272 words
"Where there is hunger, law and order collapse. Theft becomes survival." ~ Raj Patel
"The man who is hungry steals, not because he is a thief, but because he is hungry." ~ Victor Hugo
"A hungry man is not a free man." ~ Adlai E. Stevenson II
"When you are hungry, you will break any law and cross any boundary." Chris Hedges
"If you steal food to survive, is it a crime or a consequence of society’s failure?" ~ Noam Chomsky
You are in a place where people are fighting for their lives every day, where there is anarchy and people make desperate choices because they are hungry.
You watch as your people, driven by hunger rather than greed, overrun aid centres and break into warehouses. Even though they are known as looters, you know that they are parents, kids, and elderly who are trying to make ends meet. You witness police, who are supposed to maintain order, being killed by bombs as they attempt to maintain Gaza City's eroding sense of law into utter social and political chaos. You see thousands of people enter the brand-new aid facility in Rafah to feed a family that hasn't eaten for 4 days not to commit a crime. While limiting the very assistance you require to survive, influential voices far from the debris accuse you of stealing and assert that your fight for food is a front for political control and a weapon of choice.