Shafaqna English- In the rubble of Gaza, internet can be difficult and dangerous to get online but tech activists are making sure the enclave does not go totally dark, securing a precious digital lifeline for thousands of people.
Preserving this connection comes at a price and the risks can be deadly for desperate users clambering to high ground to get a signal or engineers travelling to dangerous areas to repair damaged cables or telecoms towers.
Tech entrepreneurs outside Gaza are using electronic SIMs, or eSIMs, to help strengthen Gaza’s frayed digital lifeline.
An eSIM gives users the option of activating a mobile network’s cellular data plan without actually having a physical SIM card. They can be activated using a QR code, allowing users to connect in roaming mode to a foreign network.
Forced to flee his home yet again as war raged across the Gaza Strip, Khalil Salim was desperate to get his family to safety but how could he be sure he wasn’t leading them deeper into danger?
He needed up-to-date information and so he went online and checked out the official social media accounts of the Israeli army and other online sources.
“We would take instructions from the internet. We couldn’t assess the internal fighting … so we would follow the news and channels and look at Facebook and see what people wrote,” Salim said.
But when he could not get a signal or a connection, he was left in the dark, with no sure way of plotting a safe route.
Sources: Palestinian Information Center