Palestine: Waiting for the Iftar Cannon in Gaza · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Iftar Cannon
The war on Gaza has made many traditions a distant memory. Palestinian blogger Hazem [ar] laments the end of a Ramadan ritual, which his grandfather remembers and which is no more.
It is a tradition marked in many Muslim countries, where  cannons, which signal the breaking the fast at sunset (Iftar), and which are no longer fired in Gaza. He writes:
Oh my grandson, if only the Iftar cannon would return. It will bring happiness to every home and room. We used to gather in your grandmother's house, all of us, sitting around the fire ovens, celebrating the nights of Ramadan.
On life in Gaza during Ramadan, the old man recalls:
We used to visit our relatives and neighbours, and everyone had a smile on his face. We used to stay up at night and tell each others stories and secrets, about a knight, a lion and an adventurer.
Returning back to the modern day, the grandfather laments:
Hazem then continues: