RAFAH: Amid the 12 day frenzy of the border free-for-all between Gaza and Egypt, there was one commodity the Egyptians craved from their coastal strip neighbors - the original Palestinian falafel. Reputed among the best in the Middle East, the chickpea fried meat patty the Gazan way became the Palestinians chief contribution in the bustling exchange. Egyptian falafel are made of beans not chickpeas. From the moment the border wall separating Gaza from Egypt was blown open on Jan. 23 and Gazans stormed into the Egyptian part of the divided border town of Rafah, the town s main street became an open-air market, with Gazans bargaining with Egyptian dealers for gasoline, water bottles, cigarettes, car batteries, even carpets. But Palestinian falafel vendor Ghazi Shaheen came to sell, not buy. He set up an improvised wooden stall with a one-flame cooker attached to a gas canister, and with a showman s flair tossed tiny falafel paste balls into the sizzling cooking oil in his frying pan, calling customers in rhyme to come taste the best Palestinian falafel for the beautiful Egyptian people. By his side, his two sons would hurriedly wrap up every three falafel pieces into a small pita bread, top them with hummus, and sell the sandwich for one Israeli shekel - about 30 US cents or LE 1.5. We are offering our most special meal to the Egyptians, since they have offered us everything else, said Shaheen, 43, recounting how he left his falafel restaurant in the coastal town of Deir El-Balah to move his business to Rafah while the border was open. In Rafah, he made more money than he would back at the restaurant, staying awake every night until 3 am and selling more than 1,500 falafel sandwiches a day. It is really good, they are famous for this kind of food, Refaat, 30, an Egyptian truck driver who came to deliver merchandise to a local shop, said of the Palestinians. He asked for extra cumin and chili paste on his sandwich. The Egyptians were not the only ones guzzling up the falafel. Hungry from bargaining, Palestinian shoppers also queued up at Shaheen s stall and those of other Palestinian falafel vendors. But the price in Rafah was double what falafel costs back in Gaza. Being fooled by our own people, this is wrong, it s unfair, shouted an elderly, bearded Palestinian. Abdel Nasser Moussa, who also sold falafel at a stall similar to Shaheen s, shrugged, saying it was just a rare chance for him to make a decent amount of money before the borders closed. I have been out of job for more than a year, so nobody has the right to tell me this is unfair, Moussa said. Along with Palestinian falafel and hummus, Israeli baloney also made its way into Rafah, sold by the Palestinians. But on Sunday, Egypt closed the last frontier breach, and the Palestinians were again confined to their coastal strip. Shaheen closed up shop and went home, despondent and in no mood to open his restaurant. I am so very sad that the borders closed, he said on the phone from Gaza.
