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Bombs and bank restrictions: Gaza’s digital workers freelancing through blackouts

The Independent·Sam Metz·19 days ago
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As Israeli drones patrol the skies and ambulance sirens echo through the distance, Tarik Zaeem remains focused on his laptop, debugging a barcode reader for a Saudi valet parking app. Each weekday, he traverses the bombed-out streets of Gaza City to a coworking space. This vital hub allows freelancers to charge their devices and access stable internet, a rare commodity in the besieged territory. For Zaeem and others, remote work provides not only desperately needed income but also a crucial escape from the impoverished and largely devastated Gaza Strip. “When I work, I forget everything and focus on the coding. I stop thinking about my family’s basic needs,” the 44-year-old programmer said of his wife and three children, who fled to Egypt early in the war. “I stop thinking about airstrikes or searching for drinking water. When I’m on my laptop, I shut everything else out.” Zaeem is part of a community of freelancers coding, designing and programming for clients abroad.…

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