Standing in the looted studio, 22- year-old radio hostess Fayrouz al-Daba looked despairing and frustrated as she knew that the pro-Fatah radio station she used to work will be closed indefinitely.

Losing her fond work is not the bitterest disappointment for the young lady, but losing the only channel to communicate with her beloved fiance is really a heavy blow for a girl at the age of romantic love.

Al-Horria (Freedom) Radio, where Fayrouz worked, is a pro-Fatah radio station, which presented a radio program that connected prisoners' families in Gaza with those Palestinians jailed in Israel.

Fayrouz just took advantage of her work to keep in touch with her fiance who is serving a life sentence behind Israeli bars.

However, after Hamas defeated its rival Fatah in days of infighting and seized the Gaza Strip completely, Al-Horria Radio along with other pro-Fatah radio stations in Gaza is looted and closed.

"There is nothing here except for these scattered papers," she croaked with tear drops rolling down her cheek. and could be seen in the dark studio where the lamps were also looted.

Now, Fayrouz lost her job, while her fiance lost her voice in the Israeli jail.

In the Gaza Strip, only the Islamic radios, mainly Hamas' and the Islamic Jihad (Holy War)'s stations, remained broadcasting.

In the latest round of violence, Hamas gunmen snatched the equipment of al-Horria radio and the Fatah-run al-Shabab (Youths) radio. Both of them support Fatah.

Another radio station, run by the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was also looted and the broadcaster blamed "unknown gunmen" for the incident.

Other radio stations, which air only cultural and social programs, also stopped their broadcasting when Hamas was taking over the Palestinian Authority facilities in the Gaza Strip.

"Gaza air speaks Hamas," said Hassan Shamaly, owner of electrical instruments shop. "Other radios used to air advertisement for my business all stopped."

Abu Obaida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, said that the owners of those radios closed down their firms willingly "when the coup seekers and trouble makers started to collapse."

However, the shutdown of those pro-Fatah radio stations was slammed by human rights groups.

Isam Younis, director of al-Mizan center for human rights, said that the closure of the radio station was in violation of the press freedom.

The date of reopening those radio stations is unknown as the situation in Gaza is still uncertain. But for Fayrouz, who still can't believe the smash of her radio station, reopening the station and restoring the contact with her fiance is still a dream.

Source: Xinhua