A Father Trying To Cope

Mohammed is a young father of three little children: son Bader, 6 years, his daughter Mira, 4 years, and baby Karim is only 2 years old. In addition to his own family, he cares for his wife Nesma, and his mother, who has been ill during the war.

A student, Mohammed is unable to find employment on the Gaza Strip. Finding sustainable work has been challenging for Palestinians for years, and is almost impossible now due to the humanitarian crisis. UNICEF has reported on this problem before. The poverty in the tent encampments is unimaginable.

Mohammed tells me the water in the camp is polluted. This puts everyone at risk for infectious diseases like cholera. The children are especially vulnerable due to both their age and being forced to endure months of chronic malnutrition.

Why Mohammed Urgently Needs Your Donation

The situation in Gaza is critical. Palestinian families endure threats to their lives not just from the bombings and shootings, but from lack of sanitation in the camps, and the threat of water from the Mediterranean Sea.

He explains:

"All I want is a decent life for me, my children and my family. My children have the right to education and the right to a decent life. My family's needs: buying food and drink. Now the water we drink is polluted. "

The camps have no protection from the elements. Not only do Gazans deal with extreme heat, but soon they will face another brutal winter in this war.

Mohammed continues:

"My children need clothes... we are at the end of summer and they don't have clothes for the winter, except for torn clothes. We need mattresses, blankets, and tent maintenance. The tent we live in is not good. It is made of cloth and wood. In the winter, it is not suitable. Water will reach us and my children will get wet and we might drown in the tents."

The ages of the children further add to Mohammed's worries. The stress of trying to raise very young children, including a baby, in a tent during war is a trauma no parent should ever have to endure.

Mohammed details his agony:

"My little son, Karim, is two years old. He needs diapers and needs... and needs milk. He hasn't had his milk for 5 months because I can't buy it... and I need to collect money to get me out of Gaza from the war and seek refuge in another country."

UPDATES

This week your donations fed not only the children but the 3 adults: Mohammed, Nesma, and his mother, who is struggling with illness. Your donations bought Karim milk, diapers, and even a tiny bit of chocolate for the kids. Life is so miserable and precarious but you made such a difference! One person donated enough to not only feed everyone, but paid for necessities that they have gone without for the baby, and Mohammed was even able to get a small treat of snacks for the other children. This is a small bit of joy in months for them. I was so happy to see that, it meant so much to them.

We thank you for caring and for sharing what you can to help Mohammed's family survive another week of hell. 🙏

August 19th:

Mohammed tells me it was a terrible, terrifying night. Imagine raising your children under the constant threat of death. I include his own words here; he uses Google translate to talk to me, as his English is difficult for him.

Before going to bed last night, he wrote:

"The shelling is intense now and there are tanks advancing, but they are a little far away. They are besieging a shelter with a lot of people in it."

I never know if I will hear from him again. In the mornings, the first thing I do is check for messages from him to see that he and his family are ok:

"Good morning.. It was one of the hardest nights of my life.. Lots of bombing.. The occupation advanced and besieged everyone and then retreated a little.. We don't know what they are thinking now. We are in a state of exhaustion and fear."

Amid the daily fear of death, I am seeing another grief for Mohammed: the loss of the kids' childhoods. He worries that they will never get their education, even if they survive the advance:

"I hope the war ends soon… Bader should advance to first grade… but the circumstances are difficult here… There are private schools here because of the war, not governmental ones… but if the donations are good, I will enroll him in them. He wants to learn and asks me to, but I cannot provide education or food… I hope the donations increase with time and that we find many good people who will help through donations and by sharing my meaning and conveying it, people can donate…"

August 29th:

The last couple of weeks have been hard in the tent. We were not able to find many donations, but those that did come made life more bearable, even for a day or so. The relief from hunger and thirst is always welcome. 

Today Mohammed sends me a concerning update on the looming evacuations, which they expect will begin next week. Mohammed will not evacuate, he says. He simply can't physically do it. 

His mother cannot walk with her heart condition, and the three children are far too young to walk, let alone carry the few supplies they will need to set up again wherever they are displaced to the south of Gaza.

To help them evacuate we estimate will cost about 3000.00 USD. He must find a vehicle and supplies for their next camp. They also need food and medicine.

If they don't evacuate they will die. I don't see how they will survive an escalation of the occupation.

He explains, translating an announcement for me:

"🔴Yedioth Ahronoth: 🔴The Israeli army's announcement of the end of the tactical truce in Gaza City is a preliminary step for the launch of Operation "Gideon Vehicles 2." 🔴Next week, all residents of the city will be asked to begin evacuating to the southern Gaza Strip before the operation to seize the city begins."

This is not only terrifying news, but to survive now means the cost of commodities will go up even more. Mohammed continues:

"It seems that they will stop the aid soon, and this means that prices will also rise significantly. If I had the money, I would buy the supplies at good prices. I hope to receive donations until the morning so that I can buy what I need. I do not want my children to die of hunger."

I will continue to update on what is happening in the camp as Mohammed is able to get information.