Iyad Hijazi, 35

I'm a Jordanian national and my wife is a resident of the Gaza Strip. I came to Gaza in 1998, on a visitor's permit that my relatives obtained for me, and I've been here ever since. I worked in my uncle's bamboo-furniture factory until 2006, and then I married and opened my own bamboo-furniture workshop.

Before Israel's total siege on the Gaza Strip began, my workshop operated regularly and I had lots of customers. The problems began in June 2007, when Israel closed all the crossings. At first, they wouldn't let any raw materials in, and then they started allowing very small amounts in. The materials and equipment I need have become rare and very expensive. Before the siege, I paid 90 shekels for a 16-liter can of thinner. When the siege began, it rose to 120 shekels. A package of red bamboo poles used to cost about 100 dollars but when the siege started, it jumped to 120 dollars. The price of sandwich board went from 90 to 120 shekels.

Later, Israel tightened the siege, and the prices rose even higher. To make matters worse, there is a monopoly on the sale of wood in the Gaza Strip, which makes prices even higher. Now, a panel of sandwich board, or of a 16-liter can of thinner, costs 600 shekels. The high prices and the shortage of goods made it impossible for me to continue. I couldn't keep with the prices and neither could my customers. Also, since I didn't know when I would receive the raw materials, I couldn't promise when the furniture would be ready.

Once I stopped operations, I couldn't pay the rent for the factory, 3,500 dollars a year, or the workers' salaries, which amounted to about 4,000 shekels.

I sold all the equipment and materials that were left and closed the factory in April 2008. I also sold the furniture in the apartment I rented. My wife and children went to live for the time being with my mother-in-law and I went to live with my brother. Now we're waiting for the crossings to open so we can leave the Gaza Strip and go and live with my family in Jordan.

Iyad Isma'il Taha Hijazi, 35, married with two children, is a resident of Gaza City in the Gaza Strip. His testimony was given to Khaled 'Azayzeh in Gaza City on 8 May 2008.