NefeshBarYochai
2024-08-19 01:17:49 UTC
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PermalinkAs someone who lived in Palestine, made lifelong friends there and
spent a decade working as a journalist, I had seen the devastation
Israel left behind with each brutal attack on the defenceless people
of Gaza. The impact on civilians, especially children, in the densely
populated territory, was always disturbing for anyone who cared to
read about Israels attacks. But I could not have ever imagined Israel
would carry out the level of destruction and mass extermination it has
since October 7.
The official death toll in Gaza has come close to 40,000 by now. An
article published by medical journal The Lancet in June estimates that
it could reach at least 186,000 that is 8 percent of Gazas
population. In addition, more than 90,000 people have been wounded,
many with life-altering injuries. The majority of casualties are women
and children.
Watching the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza has been soul-wrenching
and I, like so many other people, have felt helpless and guilty.
No amount of shocking images of dead Palestinian children, and no
amount of reports about war crimes being committed by Israel have
managed to sway world leaders to actually do something to stop Israel.
Protesting and pleading have seemingly done nothing to convince
governments to act. The complete disregard for Palestinian lives by
our leaders has been frustrating.
Meanwhile, I like millions of other people in the West have no
worries about war or occupation in my daily life. I feel guilty I am
safe here in the United States, while my government is funding and
arming genocidal Israel.
Seeing images and videos of parents picking up their dead children
from the rubble of homes and schools has been heart-wrenching. I have
a little daughter and I cant imagine the helplessness and rage I
would feel if I were a Palestinian parent in Gaza.
I have tried my best to fight this paralysis of helplessness and
guilt. I have checked regularly with friends in the West Bank and
tried to help with whatever I can. Through them, I have often heard
heartbreaking stories about people they know in Gaza.
But there has been one story that stuck with me. An old friend in
Ramallah told me about Ahmed*, a father from Gaza, who got stuck in
the occupied West Bank after October 7, while his whole family
remained in the Strip. Ahmed had come to the West Bank to seek
treatment for a medical problem he had. When the war started, he
wanted to go back but could not find a way.
He was living with the constant pain of separation and dread that
something could happen to his family. The stress of not being able to
protect his wife and kids was worsening his health condition.
Ahmed had heard about GoFundMe campaigns that raise money to help
evacuate Palestinian families from Gaza by paying the fees required by
Egyptian brokers about $5,000 per person. There were some success
stories of fundraising that had given him hope that he could get his
loved ones to safety, as well.
Ahmed mentioned the idea to one of my friends in the West Bank, who
thought I might be able to help set it up since I have a bank account
eligible to set up a GoFundMe campaign. I was more than willing to
help. I set up the campaign in April and have been trying to fundraise
since then.
I have spoken to Ahmed and reached out to his children in Gaza. Their
harrowing story has made me that much more motivated to do everything
I could to make this campaign successful.
Ahmeds 20-year-old son Karam gave me a detailed account of the
horrors he and his siblings Mahmoud, 18; Amneh, 15; Saja, 12; Zaina,
9 and Mohammed, 6 and their mother and aunt Aman and Zaina had
been through. At the start of the Israeli invasion of Gaza, they had
to flee their home in the at-Tawam district, north of Gaza City with
almost nothing but the clothes on their back, as it was
indiscriminately bombed. They first headed to an uncles home in Tal
al-Hawa in southern Gaza City, then to another relative in Jabalia
refugee camp. There, in December, the house where they were staying
got bombed while they were all inside.
The walls in the house started to fall around us, with shrapnel
flying in all directions, Karam described. It was a moment of sheer
chaos and destruction.
Karams right leg was broken and he got third-degree burns in the
bombing. Six-year-old Mohamad was burned on the face and hands. Other
family members also suffered from burns. Because of Israels attacks
on hospitals, they could not get proper medical treatment. The family
heard that there was a functioning hospital in Deir el-Balah, so
thats when they decided to start the journey south to central Gaza to
find medical treatment.
Karam described the apocalyptic scenes they witnessed as they
travelled south on the last day of Israels safe passage corridor
for Palestinians who wanted to evacuate from Gazas north. It was, of
course, not a safe passage at all.
The road was filled with burned dead bodies and burning ambulances
I saw entire families martyred in their cars, Karam said. And on our
way, the Israeli military boats were firing at us the entire time.
The family made it to Deir el-Balah in central Gaza where they set up
a makeshift tent.
The size of the tent is five metres by four metres. The girls sleep
next to each other and my mother and my younger brothers sleep next to
each other. I sleep at the door due to the small area, Karam said.
Karam described having nothing to sleep on or cover themselves with
when they first got there and the weather was still cold. In the
summer, conditions worsened, as the heat, flies and mosquitos became
unbearable.
Karam and his brother still suffer from their wounds, as they were
unable to get the correct medicine necessary to treat their
third-degree burns. Their youngest sister Zaina now suffers from PTSD,
and panics to the point of having convulsions when she hears Israeli
planes flying over especially when they fly low and make sonic
booms. All three of the boys have contracted hepatitis from dirty
water and their eyes and skin have started to turn yellow. There is no
treatment for this available in Gaza.
The family relies heavily on canned food from aid organisations to
survive. Fresh food is too expensive and firewood is increasingly
unaffordable. Fuel for cooking has virtually disappeared.
Karam and his siblings spend most of the day searching for water, both
seawater and freshwater the latter being especially difficult to
find.
The family lives in constant dread that their tent will be bombed.
They do not care about children or women, death is the easiest thing
in Gaza, Karam said. We have reached the point where at any time you
can find any kind of body part in an apartment.
The family had been through so much that when I talked to them the
despair was palpable. With everything that has happened since October,
it is hard to feel hopeful. But as impossible as hope feels given the
ongoing, horrific crimes committed against innocent Palestinians, it
is truly the only way forward.
The Rafah border has been closed since Israeli forces attacked it in
May. That has put a stop on Egypt-brokered evacuations for now.
Ahmeds family hopes to evacuate once it is reopened whether or not a
ceasefire happens. That is because their home and everything they had
is destroyed, and the medical problems they have cannot be reliably
treated in Gaza. They also want to reunite with Ahmed as soon as
possible. If they cannot evacuate, the money would be used for
whatever medical treatment they can get and for rebuilding their life
in Gaza.
I have to believe that taking some action, any action, could change
things for the better. None of us individually can put a stop to
Israels genocide, but each of us individually can make a huge
difference for Palestinian families like Ahmads. Fundraising
campaigns even if they take long give these families hope. It
proves to them that the rest of the world cares, that Palestinian
lives matter.
*The name of the familys father has been changed to protect his
identity, as Palestinians from Gaza have been targeted by Israeli
forces in the occupied West Bank.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/8/17/we-must-not-succumb-to-despair-palestinians-need-our-help