Voice over :
10:00:25:16 - 10:00:32:06
Said is 14. Every evening, along with his friends, he digs a tunnel beneath the border between the Gaza strip and Egypt.
10:00:36:19 - 10:00:46:14
There are picks and shovels and pails for removing the sand. The most basic of equipment. And it's a laborious task. The tunnel will have to be 700 metres long.
10:00:49:20 - 10:01:00:03
Hamdan is the strongest... he digs while the others remove the sand.
Tonight, they'll work eight hours straight, but in the end will only advance by barely ten metres.
10:01:03:10 - 10:01:08:11
For these youngsters, digging a tunnel for contraband is the only way they can make any money.
Ramdan :
10:01:08:17 - 10:01:11:24
This business is like a drug.
10:01:12:21 - 10:01:16:03
When you start making money, you just can't stop.
Reporter :
10:01:16:04 - 10:01:18:15
Are you going to do this your whole life ?
Said :
10:01:18:16 -10:01:24:09
If I make enough money, I'll stop for a year then start again.
Reporter :
10:01:24:10 - 10:01:26:02
Even you'll be adult ?
Said :
10:01:26:03 - 10:01:29:18
All my life
Voice over :
10:01:57:10 - 10:02:00:19
For the past 8 months, every border post along Gaza's borders has been closed.The tunnels that burrow as far as Egypt are therefore the only way to bring in a whole range of merchandise in the gaza strip.
10:02:04:15 - 10:02:09:17
Last June, Hamas forcefully gained control of the Gaza strip.
Hamas is a movement that features on the terrorist organisation blacklists in Australia and the USA.
10:02:11:11 - 10:02:22:11
After these Islamists seized power, the Israelis and the Egyptians closed their borders with the Gaza strip. There was no way through... the Gaza strip was completely cut off from the rest of the world.
10:02:23:05 - 10:02:28:03
With the blockade in place, the need for supplies imposed a black market economy and a flow of contraband.
Man :
10:02:30:04 - 10:02:36:01
They sell everything here.
They sell cigarettes, viagra, medicine... everything.
Child :
10:02:36:02 - 10:02:41:02
OK, it's 170 shekels.
Listen, I'll give you a great price : 50 shekels.
Man :
10:02:41:03 - 10:02:45:12
Hey, get real, the price is 170 shekels !
Voice over :
10:02:46:11 - 10:02:55:03
It's a very lucrative business.
With cigarettes, for example...
A single packet bought in Egypt for the equivalent of 50 euro cents can be sold for ten times the price.
10:02:57:09 - 10:03:01:09
Every carton of cigarettes passes through the tunnels that are dug beneath the border.
10:03:10:04 - 10:03:13:20
The traffickers dig their way to the basement of an accomplice's house on the Egyptian side...
10:03:17:08 - 10:03:26:11
Once the tunnel is secured, they can load up in Egypt and bring their supplies back to the Gaza strip.
Trafficker :
10:03:28:11 - 10:04:01:03
Bcause the borders are closed we are locked in.
The Gaza strip has become our prison.
It's our destiny. We are obliged to take this kind of risk. We rely on God. If there wasn't the blockade, we wouldn't be doing it.
We've been cut off for almost a year now.
Tunnels are the only way we can pass the borders.
Voice over :
10:04:15:07 - 10:04:20:04
Said and Hamdan live in Rafah, a town cut in two by the border between Gaza and Egypt.
10:04:22:11 - 10:04:27:19
They grew up in the neighbourhood where the tunnels are now dug, and where the traffic between the two sides is organised.
Children :
10:04:29:07 - 10:04:32:08
-Everybody digs a tunnel under their house.
10:04:32:18 - 10:04:34:01
-Yes it's true
Reporter :
10:04:35:03 - 10:04:37:24
- Adult and children ?
Everyone !
10:04:38:17 - 10:04:43:06
Everyone is out of work, so everyone digs tunnel.
Reporter :
10:04:44:00 - 10:04:46:00
-Even boys of your age ?
everyone !
Voice over :
10:04:46:11 - 10:04:51:20
The business holds no secrets for them. Two years ago, we filmed Hamdan digging his first tunnel.
10:04:53:21 - 10:04:59:06
At the time, it was a training exercise. He was not yet 13 years old, but already determined to make a career.
Reporter :
10:05:01:00 -10:05:03:11
What are you working for ?
Ramdan :
Bulding tunnel
Reporter :
10:05:03:12 - 10:05:06:09
Why ?
Ramdan :
To build a real one.
Reporter :
10:05:06:10 - 10:05:09:07
To transport what ?
Ramdan :
Weapons
Reporter :
10:05:09:08 - 10:05:11:20
What do you want to do with the weapons ?
Ramdan :
Sell them
Reporter :
10:05:11:21 - 10:05:15:11
To make money ?
Ramdan :
To fight the Israelis
Voice over :
10:05:17:09 - 10:05:20:24
Since then, he and his friend Said have progressed to real tunnels.
10:05:22:06 - 10:05:27:03
The two boys grew up at the foot of the wall that marks the border between the two territories...
10:05:27:18 - 10:05:31:24
An uncrossable wall built by the Israelis during the second Intifada.
10:05:36:10 - 10:05:42:10
In this neighbourhood, most of the youngsters are tempted to make a living by digging contraband tunnels that pass beneath the wall...
10:05:43:18 - 10:05:47:06
It's the only job that can provide a decent living here...
Man(in english)
As you see yesterday night, they planned a bomb overthere, they let this stupid wall to collapse, the jail is over.
Voice over :
10:06:23:20 - 10:06:31:00
A month ago, Hamas blew up the wall that cut Rafah in two...
The Palestinians flocked into Egypt , seeking supplies...
10:06:41:17 - 10:06:50:16
Cows, sheep, cigarettes, fuel, milk, gas... merchants came from all over Egypt to sell basic goods that are only too rare and expensive on the Gaza strip.
10:06:55:13 - 10:07:01:02
Said and Hamdan were no different. They crossed the border to make deals with the Egyptians.
10:07:06:10 - 10:07:15:11
It was almost a party atmosphere, yet the two young men had mixed feelings... happy to be able to reach Egypt so easily, yet disappointed to be out of buisness.
Reporter :
10:07:16:01 - 10:07:18:19
Where are you sitting down ?
Said :
10:07:18:20 - 10:07:23:00
On the wal which separates Egypt and the Gaza strip.
10:07:23:01 - 10:07:25:20
Before we were locked inside
10:07:27:02 - 10:07:41:22
Hamas put an end to this situation but at the same time they ended the traffic in tunnels
It's unfair for us.
Reporter :
10:07:42:04 - 10:07:45:10
-Are you happy ?
Ramdan :
Yes I'm happy
Said :
10:07:45:11 - 10:07:47:22
But we have lost our job !
Ramdan :
10:07:47:23 - 10:07:50:13
It's not over ! the border will close one day.
10:07:51:11 - 10:07:55:17
As long as the border is open, we'll stop. When it's closed, we'll start again.
Reporter :
10:07:55:18 - 10:07:57:01
And today, what do you expect ?
Ramdan :
10:07:57:02 - 10:07:58:22
That the border will close
Reporter :
10:07:58:23 - 10:08:02:02
What will you do when it's closed ?
Ramdan :
Dig.
Said :
10:08:02:19 - 10:08:06:08
The job in tunnels will never end !
It's a gold mine !
Voice over :
10:08:11:15 - 10:08:18:18
The party would last only 12 days.
On Sunday, February 3rd, the Egyptians once more closed the border with the Gaza strip.
10:08:19:16 - 10:08:25:06
The tunnels in Rafah had to be opened up again.
The only passage to Egypt.
10:08:28:10 - 10:08:38:01
In Said and Hamdan's neighbourhood, the few inhabitants who don't dig tunnels are in an unbearable situation...
They are afraid of falling victim to Israeli reprisal operations.
Man :
10:08:38:13 - 10:08:56:10
There are tunnels everywhere: in front of you, behind you,
on your left on your right, to the west to the east, to the north.
Tunnels are around my house, that's not good !
If there's any Israeli invasion of Rafah, I'm dead !
Do you have a tunnel at home ?
No, but they'll attack everybody.
10:08:57:10 - 10:09:00:06
They'll bombard everything...
Voice over :
10:09:02:16 - 10:09:10:18
Two years ago, Tsahal bombarded the tunnel-diggers' homes...
These women lived next door to a trafficker, and their house was destroyed...
Old woman :
10:09:12:12 - 10:09:20:01
Come and see my ruined house.
Why ?
Because of the tunnels.
What did they destroy ?
They bombed (bombarded) the building just opposite.
10:09:23:08 - 10:09:24:21
And our house collapsed with it.
Young woman :
10:09:26:00 - 10:09:41:16
The government is aware of everything. Don't think the government doesn't know what's going on. They know everything.
They know in which areas, how many tunnels there are, who owns them, who finances them.
And when the merchandise arrives, where it's distributed.
But they take advantage of it all.
Said :
10:09:42:09 - 10:09:43:14
Ramdan !
10:09:44:15 - 10:09:48:05
Wake up ! It's time to go to school !
Voice over :
10:09:49:10 - 10:09:59:02
Said and Hamdan have no such qualms.
Life for them means digging every night.
And, if they have the courage, in the morning they head for school...
Said :
10:10:00:17 - 10:10:14:08
School is like a prison.
I show up, I leave, I go back, I stay five minutes, I leave again.
If I stay in class I'll go insane.
Reporter :
10:10:14:09 - 10:10:18:10
-Don't you think that you future is at school ?
Said :
10:10:18:11 - 10:10:23:09
My futur is the dollar, not school.
Here you must have money !
Voice over :
10:10:23:21 - 10:10:38:04
At this Rafah college, many of their fellow students dig tunnels when school is out...
The teachers know full well, but are powerless.
Today, they have summoned Said : tired of seeing his results over the past months get increasingly worse...
Said and teachers :
10:10:39:03 - 10:10:59:15
What's your job ?
-I won't lie, I work in a tunnel.
Why ? What does your father do ?
-My father has no job, no way of making money.
Does working in a tunnel provide enough money for you and your family to live on?
-Yes.
That's the problem for the children who work in the tunnels.
The work is too dangerous. It's a real problem.
10:10:59:16 - 10:11:08:17
What can we do ?
Someone has to bring home some money !
Don't you have another way to make money ?
This is the only way !
You can't find other work, apart from the tunnels ?
There's nothing else !
10:11:09:18 - 10:11:22:02
Sell vegetables at the market !
But the tunnels pay more !
You mustn't be ashamed of this kind of work.
It's just a question of organising school and work.
10:11:22:05 - 10:11:41:23
The problem is going to get more and more serious.
It's going to affect more and more pupils (students).
They'll all end up doing it !
There are 500 pupils here in the same situation as Said.
Out of 560 pupils, we have 560 Saids !
So do we just sit back and not look for a solution ?
Voice over :
10:11:46:21 - 10:11:52:13
Said is not a good student, but in the band of tunnel-diggers', he is the real engineer.
10:11:53:08 - 10:11:57:22
The traffickers who pay him mrely indicate the start and finish points of the tunnel.
Reporter :
10:11:58:15 - 10:12:00:21
What are doing ?
Said :
10:12:00:22 - 10:12:10:24
I open Google Earth. I look at the tunnel starting point, and then I locate my friend's house in Egypt where the tunnel will surface.
Voice over :
10:12:12:18 - 10:12:17:23
He then determines the best route on the internet, and explains the details to the others.
Said :
10:12:20:16 - 10:12:30:00
We'll start digging from there. We'll pass by the corner of Homait's house, then turn to the east...
10:12:32:07 - 10:12:46:11
and continue on as far as here, and that's the house we're aiming for.
We'll dig two exits. If one is discovered by the Egyptian police, we can use the other one
Voice over :
10:12:47:03 - 10:12:50:17
Once the location plans are finished, they can start digging.
10:12:52:11 - 10:12:57:23
At night, they set up a small tent just a few metres from the border.
Said :
10:13:07:00 - 10:13:09:02
It's OK, don't pull.
10:13:09:22 - 10:13:11:01
Hang on, let it go a bit.
10:13:11:18 - 10:13:13:12
Let go !
Voice over :
10:13:17:05 - 10:13:24:22
It's a Herculean task.
The heat in the tunnel is unbearable and oxygen is ever rarer as they move forward...
10:13:29:23 - 10:13:35:04
Above all, it's extremely dangerous. At any moment the tunnel can come crashing down on their heads.
Ramdan :
10:13:35:18 - 10:13:37:24
Sometimes sand fall into teh tunnels.
10:13:38:14 - 10:13:41:13
There are risks of electric shock.
10:13:42:15 - 10:13:49:12
Sometimes the Egyptians shoot gas into the tunnel that might kill us.
10:13:50:04 - 10:13:56:17
Sometimes Israélis bomb the house while you are in the tunnel
The only business that makes any money is this.
Voice over :
10:13:59:10 - 10:14:08:00
They are paid only for digging the tunnel.
When the work is completed, the trafficking between Egypt and the Gaza strip will be someone else's business.
Said :
10:14:08:07 - 10:14:25:17
We are victims. They make us work all the way.
For the tunnel opening, they bring in adults. They con us : they cheat us. They give us $100 and tell us to go and rest. They bring adults in to finish the job, but it's us who do all the work.
We do all the work and then they swindle us.
10:14:26:02 - 10:14:30:00
Other people open the tunnel, do the trafficking and make more money than us.
Voice over :
10:14:34:11 - 10:14:38:00
Said and Hamdan do not attempt to conceal their activities from their families.
10:14:40:24 - 10:14:53:11
Since the blockade was imposed, most of their uncles and cousins have been involved in trafficking betwen Egypt and the Gaza strip.
But within the families, there are endless arguments between those who dig, and those who don't...
Said Ramdan and uncles :
10:14:53:19 - 10:14:56:01
There is no advantage.
10:14:57:02 - 10:15:10:14
No advantage.
-Yes there is ! if your son was ill, and there was no medicine here...
I've brought medicine back through the tunnels for people who couldn't find any here.
10:15:11:00 - 10:15:27:19
-Can you tell me how many people have died in the tunnels ?
How many people have died, from the Gshouts, the Shoarahs, and the Bashashtehs ?
How many people ?
The life of one person is worth more than all the tunnels.
10:15:28:09 - 10:15:29:24
Is no-one aware of that ?
10:15:31:02 - 10:15:33:11
You want me to damn myself to hell ?
10:15:33:11 - 10:15:41:09
It's hell diving into a rat-hole !
Ramdan :
10:15:41:13 - 10:15:44:04
There's already been $100,000 invested in the tunnel.
Reporter :
10:15:44:05 - 10:15:46:19
-By the tunnel owner ?
Yes.
Reporter :
10:15:46:20 - 10:15:47:21
-And you've spent time down there ?
10:15:47:22 - 10:15:53:06
We've worked hard, so we're not stopping now, just because of a death or two.
Voice over :
10:15:55:14 - 10:16:11:20
Deaths from collapsing tunnels are frequent among these young men.
Said and Hamdan are aware of the risks, yet for them, the danger is almost incidental...
In their circle, anyone who has made any money grew rich from the tunnels, and for them, that is the most important issue.
Reporter :
10:16:12:05 - 10:16:14:03
- Do you like working in tunnels or are you afraid ?
Said :
10:16:14:04 - 10:16:17:20
I like because it make me some money, but sometimes I'm afraid.
Reporter :
10:16:17:21 - 10:16:19:07
-Why ?
Said :
10:16:19:22 - 10:16:22:01
You are digging your own grave.
Voice over :
10:16:22:17 - 10:16:32:10
In a few months, they will have completed their third tunnel. And as long as the Gaza strip borders remain closed, they will continue to deep into the ground to build a lifeline with Egypt.
END TC OUT : 10 : 16 : 35 : 02