Displaced Gazan journalist in Egypt shares survivor's guilt, hope for return

One year after fleeing from Gaza to Egypt, CGTN's Palestinian correspondent Noor Harazeen carries the weight of survivor's guilt, watching her homeland's destruction from afar while clinging to a pot of sage, the scent of home.

Over 100,000 displaced Gazans share her torment, grateful for safety but haunted by thoughts of families still under bombardment.

"It has been a year now since I stayed in Egypt after leaving Gaza. Life is not easy being away from your homeland and your family and your loved ones. I'm living here while my extended family in Gaza and lots and lots of my friends and fellow colleagues and journalists are still in Gaza suffering, starving, being subjected to the continuous Israeli attacks, so it is not an easy thing for me," said Harazeen.

She said though the family is living in peace now, they are hoping that the Rafah border could reopen soon and they can resume their lives in Gaza.

"But this is the fact of the life that I'm living now and unfortunately I cannot move on. I'm one of these people that would face a very hard time to move on a hardship that she faces and I'm not alone. I mean there's more than 100,000 Gazans who evacuated Gaza to Egypt during the Israeli genocide on Gaza and I do believe that we are all sharing the same thing. We are very thankful that we are living a better life looking at everything that we are having here in Egypt, but at the same time, our only goal now is for the Rafah border to open and for us to go back to Gaza," said Harazeen.

Enjoying the time being with her children in a small garden in her house offers Harazeen a break from the concerns, she said.

"This little garden, it gives me a relief, you know, sometimes it keeps me busy. Following all of the news about Gaza, like my day, like when I wake up, when I open my eyes in the morning until I go to sleep and my whole brain is just thinking about Gaza and my eyes are only watching the news of Gaza even on TV or social media. My heart, my soul is there thinking of Gaza, so I thought that I should keep myself maybe a little bit busy.

In the garden Harazeen has a pot of sage which brings her some solace.

"This is called Meramie, in English it's a sage. I know it's present in other cultures but it's very famous in the Gazan culture, like I grew up drinking this. It smells so good, this so much reminds me of Gaza," she said.

Displaced Gazan journalist in Egypt shares survivor's guilt, hope for return

An increasing number of German consumers are considering buying electric vehicles (EVs) in the face of high fuel prices, according to a recent survey by the largest German online car trading platform, mobile.de.

As the Middle East tensions continue to drive up international oil and gas prices, the cost of automotive fuel has been rising steadily in many European countries.

According to fuel price data compiled by the German Association of the Automotive Industry, since the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28, gasoline prices in Germany have risen by nearly 20 percent, while diesel prices have shot up by more than 30 percent.

Results from a recent survey by mobile.de show that if gasoline prices remain at current high levels, 43 percent of respondents said they would switch to EVs, and 36 percent cited long-term cost savings as the most important reason for considering an EV purchase.

Additionally, the platform's data show that inquiries about used EVs surged by 66 percent in the first half of March.

"We are absolutely seeing much more interest on mobile.de for electric cars. What the German energy transition couldn't do, this current geopolitical situation has done in terms of transition to electric cars," said Ajay Bhatia, CEO of mobile.de.

In addition to high oil prices, government subsidies are also a key factor driving German consumers to consider purchasing EVs.

The German government announced the resumption of subsidies in January of this year, planning to invest 3 billion euros over the next few years to provide purchase subsidies for some 800,000 EVs.

Driven by the combined effects of high oil prices and subsidy policies, German consumers' interest in EVs has grown clearly. However, it remains to be seen whether this shift will evolve into a more sustained market trend.

"How long it will stay is anyone's guess, but at the moment we're absolutely seeing an increase, and sometimes these transitions need a catalyst. And this is definitely a catalyst that is seeing the transition to electric cars speed up," said Bhatia.

More Germans interested in buying EVs due to high oil prices: survey