The least that can be said is that if the distance between Gaza and Frankfurt is far in terms of kilometers, it is close in terms of the number of victims among the population and the destruction of homes that befell the city at the hands of the Allies during World War II, as close as Frankfurt is to its river, and as close as Gaza is to its sea and to the tents of the displaced in its streets.Inside the only church that survived the war, a picture was hung showing the extent of what befell the city, while the church, with its towering columns and beautiful architecture, stood like a mountain amidst the rubble of burnt houses, so much so that the viewer might think the picture came from Gaza.Germany's first capital rose from its slump, left its pains behind, regained its health, and much water flowed in its river.The city seemed reconciled with itself and with the immigrants who constitute 65 percent of its population, and it includes the largest institutions concerned with development and reconstruction in developing countries."KfW" is one of those official state institutions, headed by the Minister of Finance, and from it branch executive arms in partnerships with international institutions, extending a helping hand with grants and soft loans to developing countries; Palestine is one of the countries that receives grants, not loans, but the kind director shyly said: only one loan remained pending, which was given to the Authority in the 1990s. I said to myself: "God will compensate you."In the meeting room, the director apologized for not offering hospitality other than water, due to the austerity policy adopted by the institution, and asked if we knew the institution before, but she quickly burst into laughter when I told her: Of course, we know "KfW", but we did not know that you are so poor that you have nothing to offer but water.In some neighborhoods of the city, you see shop names written in Arabic, and in a wide square in the middle of the city, crowded with vendors and shoppers, a statue symbolizing the goddess of justice stands between the church and the municipality building, holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other, with her eyes directed towards the municipality building, in a sign of constant oversight of its performance and correcting its deviations with the scales of justice and the sword of truth... I believe that elected municipal councils need to replicate the experience, if not with the statue, then with the ideals that prevent corruption before it occurs.
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Between Gaza and Frankfurt!