Tuesday’s Child Blog

Tuesday’s Child Returns to Gaza – Day 6

Saturday 11th July 2009

We start at 10 a.m. this morning and our first stop is to another Women’s Community Group I met on my last visit to the strip here.  We are later than planned as I struggle with the umpteenth internet crash in the hotel; I don’t think I would have the patience to live in Gaza. This women’s development initiative helps about 30 women who make beautiful embroidery in their own homes. We bought a large batch last year, kindly bought by pilgrims from Northern Ireland visiting the Holy Land. The embroidery includes: hand-bags, cushion covers, table clothes, purses, wallets, pencil cases, mobile phone holders, book covers, tissue boxes, glasses cases, dresses and shoes. The money then goes back to each woman involved in the project. I buy almost all of their stock to bring back and sell at home.

Sabah with members of the Women’s group who co-ordinate the embroidery project

Our first visit of this morning is with the Yousif Abu Haseen family, who live in a derelict area of Gaza city. When we arrive as the mother of the house is baking. This is a family of 6, 4 children, the eldest of whom, Layla, is severely disabled. The family are new to the food distribution programme. The house is tiny and hard to believe a family can live in such a tiny space, so much so that their mother is making pastry in the narrow corridor. I think back to my own home growing up and baking with my mother and grandmother in our huge kitchen and what a joy it was. My mother would sing around the kitchen and I would follow her also singing into the rolling pin of my children’s baking set. Happy times. I notice unlike many houses, however, her bowls are nice and clean.

They describe their sheer terror during the war. The food they receive lasts for about 2 weeks. I meet their children and I ask them what they would like to do when they finish school. Zahra would like to be a journalist and Zena hopes to be an elementary school teacher. Arenia is already at university studying social work. Their 3 cousins join in the fun, Ali wants to be an engineer, Jasem a lawyer and Doa a human rights lawyer. I wish them well with their aspirations and tell them they will have to study hard and we give Mrs Abu Haseen cash assistance for the months ahead. I ask what services are available for Layla; she has no access to adult disability services and stays at home. I wonder what this little soul made of terror of the war and if she could express her fears in the same way as her siblings.

Mrs Abu Haseen making bread dough in the hallway of her home

Mr and Mrs Abu Hasseen with two of their four children, Arenia and Zahra

On now, to visit the Tamam Abo Sedo family of 10 children in the same area. Mr Abo Sedo lost his hand in an industrial accident at work and is now unemployed as is his eldest son who, for a time, used to be the main breadwinner for the family. Mrs Abo Sedo previously worked as a volunteer and has now returned to college to study social work. She is very bubbly and desperately wants a better life for her children. The house is very poor and she shows me the damage the house took during the war. Her eldest son is still in bed and I ask him if he wants to get up and tell me about himself. He joins us as and I ask him what he would like to do.  He tells me there is nothing to do and there is no chance of employment.  It is the same all over Gaza. I ask him what he enjoys and he says he likes art and painting. I ask him to show me some of his drawings and he takes me into the living room where he draws his pictures on the wall. The family cannot afford paper for such luxuries and I promise to send him an art book and paints. His younger brother is studying at university in the same year as his mother. “I am studying social work with my mother but there is no work for most young people in Gaza”, he explains.

Unemployed Mamoud with one of his younger brothers

One of Mamoud’s paintings on the wall of the living room

The children gather round as we pass out the sweets and I ask them what they are brilliant at and there are giggles all round. I tell them to think about it as I will be back later on to find out. Again, when it comes to career aspirations they are very high and reflective of the recent war here. In this home, we have 2 budding doctors, a journalist, a construction engineer, a social worker and a lawyer. I suggest they will have to follow their mother’s example and work very hard. Again, we distribute cash assistance and sweets for the children. As we leave the block, there are two young children playing with a washing machine. The right to play and leisure is so important I could kick myself for leaving this morning without some toys. For now, the sweets will have to do.

Two little boys having fun with a broken washing machine

Our third visit is to the Hani El Jamal family of 7 children and 1 on the way. They are extremely poor and Mr El Jamal is mentally ill and has been shamed by some in the local area; such illnesses sadly promote stigma instead of support and rehabilitation, a universal failure in humanity. They describe the war and how they had no food and very little water for 15 days. They all stayed close together in the one room and did not sleep for the duration of the war for they were too afraid. Sometimes, they tried sleeping in shifts but it was impossible as the bombs fell constantly. In this family we have a budding journalist and a doctor. The food lasts for about 2 weeks and this household is also eligible for food from UNRWA that they can access every 60 days. We give cash assistance here and the mother is thrilled with the help.

The El Jamal family with 5 of their 7 children

The fourth family today is the Basam Obaid family of 11 including 8 children and their grandmother. When we enter the home we find the grandmother very distressed as 4 of her sons were arrested last week by Hamas, one at the university, and she has not heard from them since. The grandmother’s generation originally came to Gaza from Syria and so they are also eligible for food from UNRWA. Our food lasts for about 15 days which together with the 60 day supply from UNRWA sees them better off than most. I ask about the war. “It was terrible, really frightening, explains”, Mrs El Jamal, “and we are still afraid that they will return”. Her 10 yr old son Mohammed tells me he saw 5 children in the same street killed all of whom were his friends and 2 of whom were brothers. He describes how the 5 were killed by shells and as he says, “their bodies, were cut to pieces, there were bits of their bodies all over the place”. He tells me he wants to be an engineer when he grows up. And again the same career aspirations as in previous homes this morning: doctors, journalists, social workers are the choices here. One sister is disabled and cannot speak. I ask if she goes to a special school, and her mother says, that they tried but she would not go and is now too afraid to leave the home. Again, we give cash assistance and sweets and bid farewell. The grandmother asks if we can help with her sons for it is almost all of her family taken. I tell her, we cannot, but we will pray for their safe return.

Grandmother Obaid, very distressed over the arrest of 4 of her sons

Little boy close to spot where 5 children were killed in a rocket attack in Jan ‘09

We leave this area and drive to Beach Camp, a profoundly Hamas area, with green flags everywhere, not unlike Co Fermanagh this time last year in the run up to the Ulster Final. I think of Sunday and hope that Antrim can do what it takes to win in Clones against Tyrone, for God knows we need it. Come on the saffrons! Back to the visits!

The family here is the Zenaib Abu El Anzeen, of seven people, and again a grandmother here who is also crying and really very distressed. When we arrive there are just 3 in the house, the grandmother, her daughter (sister) and one of the children; the parents and the rest of the children are at the hospital. The little girl answers the door, her aunt and her grandmother are in bed and they both make an appearance. The reason we help this family is really because of the grandmother as she is incontinent and needs incontinence pads. I ask Sabah about incontinence services for the elderly and she explains there are none. She could do with a continence assessment and appropriate prescription of pads for her needs. She sits in the chair now outside her bedroom and cries. I ask the little girl, Sahar, how she is. I ask her what she enjoys and she says nothing. I ask her what she wants to study and she says nothing. I cannot help but feel that the atmosphere here in this home is doing little for this child’s development. Her aunt tells us that a few months ago Tony Blair came to visit their home and he promised them help but no help came. I go out to the car as I remember seeing one Sleeping Beauty colouring book, with stickers and pens in the back seat and I bring it in and give it to Sahar and she smiles. I tell her that she needs to study and think of her future and I will call back on my next visit to see how she is getting on. I ask her if she is taking part in the summer games and she says no. We give cash assistance again and I leave worrying for the future of this beautiful child clearly affected by the social deprivation she is living in. As for Tony Blair, I have a good mind to write to him about his empty promises to little children. I guess, that’s politicians for you. They make empty promises and give false hope the world over; the lip service kings.

Family home that Tony Blair pledged to help

Our next family we visit has 11 children and when we arrive several are in the bathroom showering. ”It is the first time we have had water this week“, explains the mother, ”so everyone is having their shower today“. This is a lively and vibrant home, very different to the previous. The children are bursting with ideas for their future – here they include: doctors, an engineer, a journalist and a teacher of Arabic. I tell the latter I will come and join their class as I have very little Arabic. The family lost their home in the war and moved to this rented accommodation costing a hefty 100 US dollars per month. They are just about to prepare lunch and looking into the kitchen the little they have is heart-breaking, about 15 chips, of which 3 are set aside for the youngest little girl and some vegetables that look like yams but I am not sure. We don’t have them in Ireland anyway! I ask how long the food lasts, about 12 days, the mother says and the next food distribution is next week. The father is unemployed, he used to work as a painter, but now it is hard to find paint in Gaza except at high prices through the tunnels making an income from the trade impossible. Regardless, he has a heart condition and having suffered a heart attack a few weeks after the war, he has been told to take it easy and avoid stress and anxiety. Little or no food, rent he cannot meet, no job and 11 children to feed, how can he possibly avoid stress?! His 12 year old son, Ahmed, was hurt in the war, and the child lifts his t-shirts to show scar marks of many stitches that run all the way around his abdomen up his side and diagonally across his back. There is great excitement over the sweets and some of the children can’t get out of the shower quick enough. We leave cash assistance for rent and food with the family and they parents are very grateful. I find the gratitude displayed in each home so very humbling and wish I had more to give, however we have many families to help these 2 weeks.

The El Alzeen family in their rented home

Cooker in EL Alzeen kitchen

Lunch for 11 people

Our next visit is just next door and up a huge staircase to perhaps one of the most heart-rending stories of the morning. Here a young woman with her family also cares for two elderly parents. Her mother suffered a heart attack followed by a stroke and is now bedridden, incontinent and has lost her speech. She is fed via an NG tube. The incontinence pads cost 28 shekels per pack and she she needs 8 per month. Again, I doubt she has ever had an incontinence assessment. The poor woman looks miserable although she understands every word. Her window on life is grim, a grey discoloured room badly in need of painting, torn curtains and not as much as a picture or a flower. I wonder how she managed through the war and how she expressed her needs during these terrifying weeks. We give cash assistance to her daughter and also monies to decorate her room, buy nice curtains and some paintings for her mother to look at. I ask Sabah to come back in one month and take photos of the work. The daughter is clearly very dedicated to her mother. Her brothers’ wives also help and give her some respite. She also has a family of her own to take care of, yet all of the allocation goes to her mother. We agree to double the allocation to this family, 2 coupons, one for food and one for incontinence pads. I think of the boxes of pads I could send from home, but with the blockade it would be impossible to get them through.

Mrs Fathma Baewy

Fathma’s view

As we are leaving, I look back and in another room spot an elderly man peering out of his room – her father. I had not realised she looked after both parents here. His mobility is very poor although he has a large old-fashioned crutch and he hobbles out in his underwear to say hello. I give him a bag of sweets and he is delighted. I wonder when was the last time, he managed to get out of the house and down the huge flight of steps, daunting for even an able-bodied person. He could do with a chair lift, electricity pending!

Mr Baewy

Coming downstairs and back onto the street, we meet two of the young boys from the previous family, carrying food back to their home. It’s kebabs for the family and I am delighted they are going to have a decent lunch today.

Cash assistance for one family quickly put to use for decent lunch

It’s 2.30 p.m now and we leave the visits for now as between 2 and 4 is not a good time for families I am told. I arrange to meet Sabah again at 7 p.m.

Later this evening our first stop is the supermarket in the Gaza city area. This evening, Sabah brings both her daughters with her. They are enjoying being part of the humanitarian work. I am introduced to the owner and we talk about food prices and family allowances. He sources food from suppliers in the West Bank, Egypt and Israel and also the tunnels. I ask him what percentage from tunnel supplies and he says about 20 percent. Sabah explains how he helped prepare food parcels with her during the war and I thank him. The families like the food coupons he says and choices vary between families, but for the most part they opt for core essentials, rice, flour, oil, tinned meat, tinned tuna, lentils. I ask if he can put together a common shop and going to his ledgers, he pulls out the food choice for one family in last month’s distribution and asks one of his employees to put it together. I thank him for his time. I also stock up considerably here on the sweets as he has a good supply and again buy some lion bars, the mileage from the story still continues and we have a good laugh again. Sabah explains the lion and the tunnel tale to the perplexed supermarket owner who is at a loss to understand why we are in stitches laughing over chocolate bars.

Supermarket in Gaza City, used for food distribution

On now into the main shopping area of Gaza city to look for a washing machine for the family we met last Tuesday, as promised. There are two shops and Ahmed has already done his homework, sourcing the best value and getting us a little discount. After 15 minutes or so, we decide on the best washing machine, a twin tub rather than a standard automatic given the electricity curfews. The machine is wrapped and carried to the car and we head for Beit Hanoun.

Sabah and Ahmed with the new washing machine

It is getting dark now and with no electricity or street lights it is a hard drive. We pass many donkeys and carts through this area. Ahmed cannot understand my love of donkeys. I tell him I have always liked them since my childhood, but unlike Gaza, in Ireland they usually roam free and have a much nicer life eating apples and sugar lumps! I also explain that the donkey, in our faith, is an animal of esteem, as it carried Our Lady to Bethlehem and also the Baby Jesus in the flight into Egypt. I guess Mohammed didn’t travel by donkey.

Sharifa’s house is proving hard to find in the dark. We drive through little streets shattered by war and the poverty here is appalling. Litter is everywhere and even at this time in the dark, the area is over-run by children. We find her street and knock at the door. She is overjoyed and all the family come out to welcome the new washing machine. Neighbours pour in from nearby houses and there is great excitement. Sharifa can’t contain herself as Sabah runs through how to operate the machine and all the children have a peer in. She hugs and kisses me many times and her daughter gives me a bracelet she has woven for me. Sabah’s daughter, Rima, passes round the sweets. Again the word spreads and there are many children gathering outside hoping for a sweet. The new supply isn’t lasting long.

Sharifa overjoyed with the arrival of her washing machine

I also give Sharifa multivitamins for 9 of her children under 12 yrs. Time to take our leave as we have still one family to visit and we leave one very happy woman. As with all children, they love to see their photos. Each picture we take of a child or group of children we show them the photo afterwards and it is a source of great amusement. Digital cameras should be supplied to every family in Gaza!

6 of Sharifa’s 11 children

We head back to Gaza City, our other planned visit doesn’t materialise as the family are at the hospital. We will return again. We discuss our itinerary for tomorrow for our visit to the middle area.

Tonight, when I return to the hotel, I meet a French physician just arrived with a team of plastic surgeons to treat children in Rafah hospital. He shows me a video of their work. He is angry as they only have 3 days here and they waited at Rafah for one week. I tell him of our own wait at Rafah back in February. I tell him of some of the children I have met in need of his services and ask if he can help. He said, they would be happy to help on their next visit to the strip and we exchange contact details. I think of the little girl I met a few days ago with the foot defect.

Tonight I pray that He sends his divine love to heal all those I met today who are suffering and all those across this tiny strip of land. I lift my little book and the it opens at this: “I was a humble man, who walked your paths of difficulty, want and hardship. Many treated Me badly, so I understand the pain of hurt. We had little money, so I understand the pain of hunger. I was different, so I understand the pain of isolation. Little ones I am with you”. Again, I feel these words are for everyone in Gaza. I open again at another page “The love in My heart gushes forth upon your world...I see so many in need of Me, and truly, they shall have Me. Bring my words to those who suffer. My words will be the balm you will use to nurse souls back to wellness. Like heavenly nurses, you will apply My words to every wound and you will see miraculous results. My children, I am working through you. I am using you as healing instruments. Your world is sick and suffers from a disease far worse than any disease of the body. The very soul of your world struggles now, to find the source of healing it requires. And I am here. I intend to heal your world”. I ask him if He can priortise the gaping bleeding wound that is Gaza, more like an aneurysm than a wound.

If you are in a position to help any of the families we met during our time in Gaza, please contact us at info@tuesdayschild.co.uk or donate online here »

Continue to read Day 7 »