Water Is Not Political

Summary

Radio Atlantic - Episode Summary: "Water Is Not Political"

Introduction

In the March 13, 2025 episode of Radio Atlantic titled "Water Is Not Political," hosted by Hanna Rosen and featuring guest Claudine Abade, the discussion delves into the critical issue of water scarcity in Gaza amidst ongoing political turmoil and conflict. The episode explores how water infrastructure has been devastated by war, the personal story of Marwan Bardaweel—a dedicated water engineer—and the broader implications for the Palestinian population.

The Fragile Ceasefire and Its Impact on Gaza

The episode opens with Hanna Rosen highlighting the precarious state of the ceasefire in Gaza, emphasizing its fragility amidst continued violence and political disagreements. Rosen sets the stage by referencing a previous episode featuring Marwan Bardaweel, a water engineer committed to maintaining access to clean water for Gazans despite escalating conflicts.

Hanna Rosen [00:36]: "With every day that goes by, the ceasefire in Gaza, if we can even still call it that, seems increasingly fragile."

Rosen recounts the dire situation in Gaza, where power cuts severely affect access to clean water for the 2 million residents. The discussion underscores the essential role of electricity in providing safe drinking water, a lifeline for survival in the region.

Marwan Bardaweel's Journey and Decision to Leave Gaza

Claudine Abade provides a detailed account of Marwan Bardaweel's experiences during the war. At 61 years old, Marwan, a father and grandfather, was initially displaced from northern to southern Gaza following Israeli airstrikes in early October. Facing relentless pressure and a near-death experience, Marwan made the difficult decision to relocate his family to Egypt.

Marwan Bardaweel [03:30]: "I'm one of the no house. And when you lost, when your houses became a repel, you don't just lost your house, you lost your house, your memories. So it's like you moved, having nothing, you lost everything. Just you are here. It's like you saved your body from physical death."

Abade explains that the exodus to Egypt was facilitated by an Egyptian company, albeit at a significant cost—$5,000 per adult and $2,500 per child—highlighting the non-altruistic nature of the evacuation process.

The State of Water Infrastructure in Gaza Before and During the War

Rosen and Abade discuss the precariousness of Gaza's water system even before the conflict intensified on October 7th. The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) relied on a patchwork of sources, including Israeli water (10%) and groundwater from 306 wells. Desalination plants and water tankers supplemented this supply, but the average water consumption was a mere 80 liters per day compared to the American standard of 300 liters.

Claudine Abade [05:09]: "With that arrangement, the average person in Gaza was getting around 80 liters of water a day. And most Americans, we use about 300 liters of water a day."

The war exacerbated these issues, with extensive bombing campaigns damaging critical infrastructure. Abade details the destruction of the Palestinian Water Authority office and significant damage to desalination plants and sewage systems by summer 2024, leading to severe health crises.

Claudine Abade [07:42]: "By the summer of 2024, almost every connection point, every desalination plant, every sewage station had either been totally destroyed or had sustained some amount of damage."

The contamination of water sources led to outbreaks of acute diarrhea and hepatitis A, with a shocking instance of a 10-month-old testing positive for polio—the first case in Gaza in 25 years—prompting a massive vaccination campaign.

Ceasefire and the Ongoing Struggle for Water Access

As the episode progresses, Rosen notes the slight improvement in water availability following a ceasefire, with some areas receiving 7 to 10 liters of water daily. However, this progress remains fragile, as evidenced by recent power cuts disrupting desalination efforts.

Claudine Abade [09:22]: "And last month, when I checked in with the Palestinian Water Authority, at least one connection point with Israel was flowing again. And one main desalination plant was reconnected to Israel's power grid. And so that was helping."

The uncertainty looms as political decisions directly impact the availability of clean water, emphasizing the intersection of basic human needs and geopolitical dynamics.

Competing Visions for Rebuilding Gaza's Water Infrastructure

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the divergent approaches to rebuilding Gaza's water infrastructure. Claudine Abade contrasts former U.S. President Donald Trump's vision of a "Middle Eastern Riviera," which entails displacing Palestinians to Arab countries and the U.S. taking over reconstruction, with a recent plan proposed by Arab nations.

Claudine Abade [10:19]: "Trump's vision is a Middle Eastern riviera... However, last week, Arab countries came together in Egypt and they agreed on a plan that could potentially include the Water Authority. They say their plan will cost $53 billion. It would be one that calls for rebuilding Gaza in a way that doesn't displace Gazans, and it calls for a Palestinian government to manage the rebuilding."

The Arab-led initiative advocates for a $53 billion investment to rebuild Gaza without displacing its residents, empowering the Palestinian government to oversee the process. This approach starkly contrasts with the U.S.-led proposal, highlighting the complexities and competing interests in international efforts to aid Gaza.

Marwan Bardaweel's Role and Philosophy

Marwan Bardaweel emerges as a central figure embodying resilience and dedication. His decades-long commitment to rebuilding Gaza's water infrastructure serves as a microcosm of the broader Palestinian struggle for self-sufficiency and sovereignty.

Marwan Bardaweel [16:35]: "I am talking about myself all the time. I run away to issues, to the professional life, to the work. Just not to keep thinking on the personal issues, because it's like you will be burned by just thinking."

Abade portrays Marwan as someone who finds solace and purpose in his professional work, allowing him to navigate the personal traumas inflicted by war. His focus on water—a fundamental human necessity—transcends politics, yet he acknowledges that political circumstances ultimately dictate the viability of access to clean water for Gazans.

Hope and the Future of Gaza's Water Sector

Despite the bleak landscape, there is a glimmer of hope in Marwan's six-month plan to rehabilitate Gaza's water sector during the ceasefire. This initiative symbolizes Gazan agency in rebuilding their community, countering external narratives that often overlook local expertise and leadership.

Claudine Abade [10:06]: "Even the fact that they have a six month plan seems really important to note, because what that symbolizes is Gazans rebuilding for themselves as opposed to the other visions, which are the US or somebody else doing it for them."

Marwan's enduring commitment underscores the resilience of the Palestinian people and their determination to restore essential services independently, even amidst political and logistical challenges.

Conclusion

"Water Is Not Political" offers a poignant exploration of the intersection between conflict, infrastructure, and human resilience in Gaza. Through Marwan Bardaweel's personal narrative and the broader analysis of water scarcity, the episode illuminates the profound impact of political instability on basic human needs. The discussion underscores the critical importance of empowering local leaders and communities in the face of adversity, advocating for solutions that prioritize the well-being and autonomy of the Palestinian people.

Notable Quotes

• Hanna Rosen [00:36]: "With every day that goes by, the ceasefire in Gaza, if we can even still call it that, seems increasingly fragile."

• Marwan Bardaweel [03:30]: "You lost everything. Just you are here. It's like you saved your body from physical death."

• Claudine Abade [10:19]: "They say their plan will cost $53 billion. It would be one that calls for rebuilding Gaza in a way that doesn't displace Gazans, and it calls for a Palestinian government to manage the rebuilding."

• Marwan Bardaweel [16:35]: "I run away to issues, to the professional life, to the work. Just not to keep thinking on the personal issues, because it's like you will be burned by just thinking."

Attributions

• Claudine Abade: Executive Producer of Atlantic Audio and guest discussing Marwan Bardaweel's story.
• Marwan Bardaweel: Water engineer in Gaza, whose experiences and decisions form the core narrative of the episode.
• Hanna Rosen: Host of Radio Atlantic, guiding the conversation and providing contextual analysis.

Production Credits

• Produced by: Jocelyn Frank
• Edited by: Andrea Valdez
• Engineered by: Erica Huang
• Fact-Checked by: Sam Fentress
• Executive Producer: Claudine Abade
• Managing Editor: Andrea Valdez

Transcript

[Claudine Abade]

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[Hanna Rosen]

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[Claudine Abade]

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[Hanna Rosen]

With every day that goes by, the ceasefire in Gaza, if we can even still call it that, seems increasingly fragile. Arab countries have offered a plan. American diplomats met with Hamas, but so far no agreement and no consensus. For the people in Gaza, survival is getting harder by the day. About a week ago, Israel once again cut off power, which is important because there are still 2 million people living in Gaza. And power helps bring them clean water, and clean water helps keep them alive. I'm Hanna Rosen, and this is Radio Atlantic. Over a year ago, we did an episode about a man named Marwan Bardaweel. He's a water engineer in Gaza, someone who's regularly calculating inflows, outflows, reviewing plans, engineering new ideas to keep the Gazans with some access to clean water, regardless of peace, war, whatever's going on politically. And something about this bureaucrat trying day after day to keep the water on really captured the growing desperation of the war, like he was just an ordinary guy trying to do a job that was hard before October 7th and continued to get more impossible by the day. When we finished that episode, Marwan was still in Gaza, like thousands of Gazans, when the war began. He and his family were displaced from the north to the south. And then recently, Marwan made the difficult decision to move his family entirely out of Gaza and over to Egypt, where our executive producer, Claudine Abade, caught up with him to try and learn more about what leaving meant for him and for the future of water for the Palestinian people. Claudine, welcome to the show.

[Claudine Abade]

Thanks for having me.

[Hanna Rosen]

So, Claudine, there's so much happening politically at this moment, but I want to step back and talk about the Palestinians themselves, the thousands who have had their lives basically upended during the war. I know many have left the country. What did Marwan tell you about why he decided to leave?

[Claudine Abade]

Well, just to remind listeners, Marwan is 61 years old. He's a father and a grandfather, and he and his family were living in the north of Gaza, which was where Israel first launched its retaliatory attack to the October 7th attacks. So five days into the war, under Israeli airstrikes. Marwan, his adult children and two of his granddaughters, they flee the north on foot to the south of Gaza. And then last summer, like almost 100,000 other Palestinians, he decides to flee once more, but this time from Gaza to Egypt.

[Marwan Bardaweel]

I'm one of the no house. And when you lost, when your houses became a repel, you don't just lost your house, you lost your house, your memories. So it's like you moved, having nothing, you lost everything. Just you are here. It's like you saved your body from physical death.

[Claudine Abade]

Many people fled to Egypt in this little sliver of a window where the border was open. And people planned to get out through basically this company, this Egyptian company, charging US$5,000 for an adult and $2,500 for a child to get people out. So, you know, it's not an altruistic endeavor.

[Hanna Rosen]

Yeah.

[Claudine Abade]

Ultimately, there were two reasons that really pushed Marwan to leave. From the professional side, he was starting to get pressure. Counsel, Counsel, I think is the right word from his boss that if he could get out, he should because his work was really valuable to them and they needed him alive.

[Hanna Rosen]

Oof.

[Claudine Abade]

The second reason was this moment that he described to me where he was driving his car and the car in front of him exploded and, you know, shrapnel from the car busted through his windshield, injured his shoulder. And I think it was just too close of a call. So, you know, when he described that moment to me, he said three weeks later, he and his family, they were gone.

[Hanna Rosen]

How did water work in Gaza before the war? Because I recall from talking to him that it wasn't easy, even the best of non war circumstances, to keep water flowing.

[Claudine Abade]

It's true. Water was never a sure thing in Gaza. It's a total patchwork of a system. There basically have a combination of water sources. One is coming from Israel, that's about 10% of their water. And that comes from three main connections, connection points. The rest is coming from groundwater that gets treated. So the Palestinian Water Authority says that before the war there were 306 groundwater wells as primary sources of water. They also have three desalination plants. They're situated along the coast and they're basically treating seawater. The output is not huge. And then they also have a lot of small scale desalination plants and water tankers that are, you know, just kind of filling in the gap. So it's not an ideal system. You have a lot of moving parts and the source water that you're starting with is already not a great Starting.

[Hanna Rosen]

Point, how much water did make it to Palestinians?

[Claudine Abade]

With that arrangement, the average person in Gaza was getting around 80 liters of water a day. And most Americans, we use about 300 liters of water a day. So that's what it was. That's what was going on before October 7th.

[Hanna Rosen]

Right. So that was the baseline before the war. Then comes October 7th. And you've described the intense bombing campaign that destroyed a lot of the north. How did that situation look in the eyes of a water engineer?

[Claudine Abade]

So pipes are getting blown up and teams are rushing out to try to repair, you know, what they can, what damage is happening in various locations and they don't know what they're walking into. So we do know that there were two separate occasions in which workers who were either doing a water repair or heading to a water repair were killed. So the conditions were really dangerous. And, you know, I'm sure you and many people have seen the images of the destruction in Gaza. And when I was in Egypt, Marwan shared some of his photos with me. It's rubble.

[Marwan Bardaweel]

Yeah.

[Claudine Abade]

This is the Palestinian Water Authority office in Gaza.

[Marwan Bardaweel]

Yes.

[Claudine Abade]

So the office itself got destroyed.

[Marwan Bardaweel]

Destroyed.

[Claudine Abade]

By the summer of 2024, almost every connection point, every desalination plant, every sewage station had either been totally destroyed or had sustained some amount of damage.

[Hanna Rosen]

So what did that mean for the people who were trapped in Gaza? Because there were still about 2 million people there. Like, how did that change their lives?

[Claudine Abade]

Right. This kind of massive destruction of water infrastructure, it does not just affect the water supply, it also leads to diseases. So by the summer of last year, we know that about 600,000 cases of acute diarrhea were reported and 40,000 cases of hepatitis A. And, and those are diseases that come from contamination of water and from having an open sewage system. And then around that same time, humanitarian aid workers become extremely concerned because they find that a 10 month old baby has tested positive for polio. And polio is something that can spread through contaminated water. And this was the first confirmed case in Gaza of polio in a quarter of a century. So they go on a massive campaign to vaccinate kids for polio. And that campaign is still ongoing today.

[Hanna Rosen]

Now we're a few weeks into the ceasefire. Maybe it's a precarious ceasefire. It's not really clear what's the current water situation.

[Claudine Abade]

For most of the war, people were getting somewhere near 3 liters of water a day, which is like so little. And that was for cooking, for hygiene, for drinking. After the ceasefire in January, some people in Gaza were Starting to get around 7 to 10 liters a day.

[Hanna Rosen]

So a little bit better.

[Claudine Abade]

A little bit better. You know, not a crazy jump, but it was an improvement. And last month, when I checked in with the Palestinian Water Authority, at least one connection point with Israel was flowing again. And one main desalination plant was reconnected to Israel's power grid. And so that was helping.

[Hanna Rosen]

Okay.

[Claudine Abade]

But this week, as you mentioned, Israel cut off the electricity to that desalination plant. So it's very possible that the water situation could turn dire again very quickly. I will say that Marwan and his colleagues at the pwa, they do have a six month plan that they have started implementing during this ceasefire. Whether they can continue to implement that plan is really up in the air at this moment.

[Hanna Rosen]

Even the fact that they have a six month plan seems really important to note, because what that symbolizes is Gazans rebuilding for themselves as opposed to the other visions, which are the US or somebody else doing it for them.

[Claudine Abade]

Right, right. Trump's vision is a Middle Eastern riviera, as he called it. And in that plan, he talks about displacing all of the Palestinians that live in Gaza and having them get absorbed by Arab countries and then the US Taking ownership of Gaza. So, you know, presumably then whoever Trump wants to contract with will come in and rebuild Gaza. However, last week, Arab countries came together in Egypt and they agreed on a plan that could potentially include the Water Authority. They say their plan will cost $53 billion. It would be one that calls for rebuilding Gaza in a way that doesn't displace Gazans, and it calls for a Palestinian government to manage the rebuilding. So that vision very different from Trump's vision. That vision is a vision of Gazan's rebuilding Gaza.

[Hanna Rosen]

Okay, so there's all this destroyed infrastructure, and there are competing visions for how to rebuild it. How does Marwan fit into all of this?

[Claudine Abade]

You know, Marwan has been building and rebuilding the water infrastructure for decades. You know, one of the reasons that I was interested in following him was that his personal life and his career really kind of let you see the track of what happened in Gaza since 1993.

[Unknown Speaker]

On behalf of the United States and Russia, co sponsors of the Middle east peace process, welcome to this great occasion of history and hope.

[Claudine Abade]

The Oslo Accords were signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. And this was a really important moment.

[Unknown Speaker]

We know a difficult road lies ahead. Every peace has its enemies. Those who still prefer the easy habits of hatred to the hard labors of reconciliation. But Prime Minister Rabin has reminded us that you do not have to make peace with your friends. And the Koran teaches that if the enemy inclines toward peace, do thou also incline toward peace.

[Claudine Abade]

At that time, there was hope. There was hope that this would be an area that would be able to govern itself, it would be able to build for itself. It would be able to think about its infrastructure for itself. And, you know, Marwan's life and his career sort of maps out what happened.

[Hanna Rosen]

After the break. Marwan was right to be hopeful once, even though he wasn't working with all that much. What does it look like to push through this time around with even less? Claudine Marwan's been working on water in Gaza for, like, 30 years. So he knows how to operate with very few resources, very little autonomy. But still, I bet in the early days, like during the Oslo accords in the 90s, the spirit of his work was probably really different.

[Claudine Abade]

Right.

[Hanna Rosen]

Did you talk to Marwan about this? Like, was there a younger Marwan who had a lot of energy and enthusiasm and was very excited about Gazans building Gaza?

[Claudine Abade]

Yeah. You know, he was born and raised in Gaza, studied water engineering in Gaza, and left for a small time to go be a water engineer abroad after the Oslo Accords are signed. He sees this as his opportunity to come home and to put his engineering abilities to work in Gaza. He's there raising a family, and he describes, you know, the beginning as a very heady time. There was an idea that the Palestinian Authority was in charge and that they were going to be able to build a water system. Can you remember that time?

[Marwan Bardaweel]

Of course I remember. And I remember we both planned five years, plan short term, long term for the water sector in Palestine. Remember that? I was in a team consists of around 11 persons. No, we had seven male and four female. And we are settled in a hotel. And it's like the hotel is like an office, because there was no office at the time. We used to work till midnight on a daily basis. We believed in the peace process. We believe that this process will continue, will end with. With something good.

[Claudine Abade]

That was the part that just kind of like, hit me in my heart when he described to me like, they were young, they were full of hope. And he talks about getting plans from other small nations so that they can. They can, you know, get an example of what are the other lessons learned, what are the things that we should be thinking about? And I don't know, could you imagine, like, we've studied to be water engineers, and now we get to build our home's.

[Hanna Rosen]

Water system, that's an exciting thing. You get to do the thing that you care about most, bringing water to people for your own people, in your own country. That's a very powerful experience.

[Claudine Abade]

Yes. But more than a Decade later, in 2006, Hamas wins an election. And with that comes a period of violence between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Eventually, Hamas controls Gaza, but the Palestinian Water Authority was allowed, I should say by Hamas to continue doing its work. And I think this is because they knew that the PWA knew what to do. They have the engineers and people need water. And Marwan, he essentially keeps his head down during this time.

[Hanna Rosen]

What is it about him that just. Did you get any insight into that? Like, what is it about him that just is able to keep focused on the task in these impossible situations?

[Claudine Abade]

I think Marwan's someone who just feels a great responsibility, a great responsibility to the people of Gaza and also to his own family.

[Marwan Bardaweel]

I am talking about myself all the time. I run away to issues, to the professional life, to the work. Just not to keep thinking on the personal issues, because it's like you will be burned by just thinking.

[Claudine Abade]

This is like your safe place is to think about the water issues.

[Marwan Bardaweel]

Yes, this is the safest.

[Claudine Abade]

I think it is a safe place to be to think about the thing that you have control over and you know what to do. And it's based on plans and it's based on equations and, you know, yes, sometimes it's based on diplomatic effort and trying to get other countries to help you, but it's all in service of something that is a clear human necessity, which is water. And that is not something to him, that is political. And yet we are at this moment where politics will be the determining factor of whether people in Gaza will have access to water. Marwan is still working in what capacity he can for the water sector in Gaza from Cairo, but how long that will last is unknown. When and if Palestinians like him will be able to go back to Gaza is unknown. And the precariousness of this political moment for Gaza, it's really hard to overstate.

[Hanna Rosen]

Claudine, thank you so much for coming on today.

[Claudine Abade]

Thanks for having me on to talk about this.

[Hanna Rosen]

This episode of Radio Atlantic was produced by Jocelyn Frank. It was edited by Andrea Valdez, engineered by Erica Huang, and fact checked by Sam Fentress. Claudina Baid is the executive producer of Atlantic Audio, and Andrea Valdez is our managing editor. I'm Hanna Rosen. Thank you for listening.