Displaced people in Gaza… daily suffering to obtain life necessities
Palestinian Jabr Moin is fighting a daily battle to obtain some of the necessities of life, such as bread and water, after he and about 40 members of his family were forced to flee from the city of Beit Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip to its south.
Moein and his relatives settled in a shelter school affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the town of Al-Qarara in Khan Yunis. The seven families lived in one side of a classroom, sharing their suffering and deprivation, and also cooperating in providing some needs.
These families lack their most basic daily needs, just like those displaced by war in general in the Gaza Strip. Food, drink, blankets, etc. are available within the minimum limits, and in a way that does not meet the minimum normal needs they had before displacement.
Moin says: “The journey of searching for food begins with the dawn of the day and does not end until it sets, so that we can provide a few of these needs,” adding: “We are not always lucky in providing what is needed, so we are forced to share what is available while waiting for the next day.”
Moin explains that displaced families are working hard to devise ways to overcome the harshest living conditions, including eating meals alternately, so that each family can obtain all types of food.
The situation of this family with displacement embodies part of the gloomy picture dominated by destitution and the inability to provide the necessities of life, not due to lack of sufficient money sometimes, but rather due to the absence of the ability to provide these goods from the market due to their scarcity or the need for time and effort to find them.
This reality prompts many displaced families to manage their affairs with what is available, and to give priority to children, the elderly, the sick, the most needy people, or those who do not have the ability to move, such as people of determination.
Anwar (46 years old), who was displaced to a shelter in the southern Gaza Strip more than two weeks ago, explains that he usually takes care of the needs of his young children and parents, especially food, and sometimes abstains from eating his meals to give them to the elderly or children.
He said: “Young people have the ability to endure hunger and skip a meal or two, but the elderly cannot and children cannot be patient or understand the new reality.”
He added: “If hot rice meals are available in limited numbers that do not cover the entire shelter center, it is agreed with the center’s management to distribute them in turns so that a share of them reaches each family according to its turn in the following days.”
This method provides equal opportunities for everyone to obtain some food provided by charitable organizations from time to time, but it is not guaranteed to reach all displaced individuals or families if humanitarian agencies stop helping or move to another center.
Abdullah (52 years old), who was displaced with his wife, six children, and parents, describes the food conditions in the shelter centers as “a crime against humanity in general, especially children and the sick, as well as the healthy and the elderly.” “Because it is very limited and unhealthy.”
He continued, saying: “What the displaced people eat cannot be described as adequate or healthy food. It is canned goods or limited-use items. We used to eat them once a week before displacement, but now we eat them constantly.”
His wife shares his opinion, saying: “I look at my children and see weak and thin faces,” considering that the continuation of the current situation “will have disastrous consequences on the children’s lives in the near future.”
She added that her heart trembles for her children and their peers, “as they are deprived of healthy meals or adequate food, and they demand things that are not available in situations of war and displacement.” We can hardly provide some canned goods or stored foods, but what is cooked or prepared hot has become a rarity.”
Palestinians cook food inside a UNDP camp for displaced Palestinians who lost their homes in the Israeli bombing in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, October 29, 2023 (AP)
UN and local institutions estimate that more than a million Palestinians have been displaced since the start of the war on October 7, that is, nearly half of the population of the narrow, densely populated coastal strip, whether in the shelter centers designated by UNRWA, which accommodate 600,000 displaced people. Or in the streets, hospitals…etc.
In light of the harsh conditions of the displaced, some humanitarian initiatives are active to alleviate the severity of the situation, by distributing cooked meals and some other supplies.
Nabil Abu Taha volunteered with other young men to cook quantities of rice, bulgur, lentils, beans, and other things to distribute to the displaced people in the shelter centers near him on a daily basis.
Abu Taha starts his day early by cooking over a wood fire, due to the lack of cooking gas, on the main Salah al-Din Road, before transporting what he cooks on a three-wheeled vehicle (tuk-tuk), which is pushed manually with the help of other volunteers because there is no fuel to operate it.
The “Nabd Al-Qararah” initiative is working to provide and coordinate some supplies for cooking and distributing them to the displaced in shelter centers, in light of the weakness of what UNRWA provides, according to the initiative’s coordinator, Bakr Abu Lihia, who confirms that the displaced need any support to alleviate the burden of their extremely harsh lives.
He says: “The people and families surrounding the shelter centers refused to talk about displaced people, and considered those who came to them as guests who must be honored as much as possible. Everyone took the initiative and participated, and we set a point for cooking and began immediately.”
He added: “We rely on our own efforts to provide what is needed for cooking, and we have moved away from bread. Because there is a crisis, let us focus on some traditional foods such as mujaddara, lentils, bulgur, and rice.”
Although what is provided by this initiative and others is only a small portion that fills one’s livelihood, according to Abu Lihia, he stresses its importance in providing some of the needs of the displaced, especially since they do not have the necessary cooking supplies and capabilities.
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2023-10-30 15:46:06
