It was about 8:00pm when one of Gaza City's Beach Refugee Camp's narrow alleys started filling up with plastic chairs, wooden stools, and people. Although lights were still on, those who brought the chairs and stools brought also lanterns, gas lamps, and candles.
"Just 10 more minutes and it will be cut," said Atef Bakr, a resident of the packed refugee camp. Exactly seven minutes later, the entire block fell into darkness, except for that narrow alley that was already lit with lanterns, gas lamps, and candles.
"Thankfully the electricity cuts are more regulated now," continues Bakr, who used to work in Israel before its disengagement from Gaza, but is now unemployed.
Forming their chairs into a circle, Bakr's neighbors and friends gathered around several pots of tea and everybody started the regular chatter about daily life, local and regional politics - often pausing to either sip some tea or smoke from the scattered waterpipes around the ring.
Following a cross-border raid in southern Gaza Strip, carried out by several Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, which resulted in the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier, Israel bombed Gaza's only power plant June 28, depriving almost 70 percent of the coastal strip's population of electricity.
In order to cope with the situation, the Palestinian Electricity Company resorted to rotating the remaining electricity, which is supplied by Israel, around the entire Strip.
However, having to perform daily duties on only eight hours of electricity per day has proven to be a tough challenge for Gazans, whether at home or at work.
But the frequent power outages, especially at nighttime, have nevertheless had some advantages to some of the residents here.
"It is a way to vent some steam and enjoy the nightly sea breeze," says Bakr. "We get to meet each other like the old days, as we were not used to meet each other so often before the electricity cuts because everyone watched television or did some work."
"Daily life can keep you busy from your friends and neighbors for a long time. Electricity cuts have drawn us from television and made us realize how fun it is to sit together every once and a while and just chat," said Bakr's neighbor, Sami Saad, blowing some smoke from his waterpipe.
Though the chatter was sometimes too much to follow, some of those sitting did not forget to bring their portable, battery-powered radios - the latest trend in Gaza since the power cuts.
"This radio is the only source of news we have when the electricity is out," said Abu Rami, an elderly man who is part of Bakr's social ring.
Though these gatherings are a frequent scene around the Gaza Strip now, others opted to stay at home during the electricity cuts and practice a long-forgotten habit: reading.
Far from Bakr's social group, in the upscale Gaza City suburb of Remal, Basma Al Jedey sat on the balcony of her family's 10th floor apartment, flipping through the pages of Harry Potter.
"It's been three years since I read anything for leisure. All of my readings were work-related," said the 26-year-old secretary. "But with the electricity out and having nothing to do, I returned to reading to escape the darkness, and the heat of Gaza's summer."
Jedey admits, however, that her passion for reading vanishes when the electricity returns to her apartment, only to be replaced by another passion - watching television.
"Indeed I have a passion for TV, but to be honest, the electricity cuts have made me realize how fun and rewarding reading could be. I think I will pick up reading again during the weekends," she said.
When the electricity returned to Bakr's alley at about 4:00 am, only few were still chatting. Some went to catch some sleep before going to work, while others, like Bakr, stayed.
"I have nothing better to do in the morning. I don't have work, so I can sleep in the afternoon. The electricity will be cut again at about noon, so I have time," he declared.
Gaza power cuts rekindle forgotten traditions
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