Humanity First

Today is the 3rd of December and I’m sipping my coffee while writing this diary. Last night was really difficult because there were drones flying over our heads the entire night. I really couldn’t sleep and I woke up this morning with an intense headache. Yesterday I woke up to the news that there will no longer be any humanitarian support coming into Gaza. But then the news changed to saying that humanitarian support will be decreased for Gaza, compared to what it’s been the last few days in the truce. This is going to have a huge impact on the people here. 

The word humanitarian assistance is very irritating to me. It’s called humanitarian assistance but in reality it’s basic human rights. It should be called humanitarian rights provided to the Palestinian people. When you say humanitarian assistance it sounds like we are a needy people, which is not correct. We deserve to have our human rights fulfilled as every other human being in the world. The word assistance is dehumanizing and insensitive towards the dignity of people who are suffering, especially the civilians who are suffering under a brutal occupation, blockade and now genocide. And so I believe this word needs to be changed.

We need help and support because our human rights are being violated, not because we are a needy people. In a previous post I mentioned that the wife of one of the sons in our host family came back from treatment in Jerusalem. Nowadays whoever enters Gaza comes through Abu Karem crossing point. I haven’t heard of a single person coming through Erez. More than one person has mentioned that men and youth who cross Abu Karem are usually slapped on the face and beaten by the Israeli army. Men and youth are also stripped out of their clothes as a way to dehumanize them. Usually once they cross into Gaza there are Palestinians waiting (if they are able to) who provide them with some clothes so they can continue their journey home with some dignity. 

This is not an unusual story. During the days of the truce and before, a number of people were coming through the so-called ‘safe passages’ to the southern area of the Gaza strip. Some of those who came through that passage were either arrested by the Israeli army or they were stripped of their clothes so they had to walk naked until they could eventually find some people who could provide them with clothes.

I heard about an incident in which one of them was asked to strip naked and then they showed him a hole in the ground which was full of naked dead people. They then said to him “You will hear the sound of a gun and it’s up to us if we want to kill you and throw you in this hole or not.” He wasn’t killed but this is severe psychological torture for the youth who usually come through that passage. In another incident, a man was on that safe passage with a bag full of money. They asked him to open the bag and when asked about it he told them that he had earned that money through extremely hard work over a number of years. I always hear about the successful business he had and no wonder he had this much money. The Israeli forces asked him to open the bag, drop the money and leave it there. Then in case anyone passed by and bent down towards it they were shot. 

In other news I’m still trying to follow up on the offer I received from an organization in Egypt to set up a mobile clinic for animals in Gaza. I’m looking for someone from the veterinary department in the Ministry of Agriculture who can help set it up but I still haven’t managed to find someone. Maybe this can be considered a call for help from whoever is reading this in the West Bank to help me find someone and see how we can make the arrangements for this to happen. I'm putting this in red so it stands out. 

I took a picture of the cousins and brothers of the newborn baby who came to the house. They are watching the the baby sleeping. I took that picture because a newborn baby means a new life and gives a new hope which I hope we will have in the future. Also watching newborn babies is something that makes so many ideas race through your mind - ‘How are they going to live? Are they going to live long? What is the environment they are going to grow up in?’ All these questions come up while looking at that child - his name is Muhammad and they are calling him the Jerusalem Muhammad because he was born in Jerusalem when his mother was sent for treatment. 

I also found out today that one of our close friends is now staying in a school in Khan Younis. This gave me a particular shock because I know the lady. I mean I know it’s unfair for anyone to have to live in a school without any right to privacy or any hygienic standards. People are complaining and fighting and quarreling all the time. But also I know this lady specifically - she was a friend of my late mum and I walk with her almost 3 times a week and I meet with her every time I miss mama - so I know her very well. Ms. Najwa is more than 72 years old. She’s a very elegant and polite woman. She’s always so well-dressed. Every word that comes out of her mouth is very eloquent and her etiquette is impeccable. She’s the definition of a true lady.

So I was terrified to learn that she is now in a school because I know that her and her family have particularly high standards in everything, including hygiene. Ms. Najwa is a grandma and she's very well taken care of by her grown-up children. They look after her with so much love. Finding out that the whole family is now staying at a school was terrifying to me. I mean I wonder how they are going to survive in the coming days. 

Thinking about all this makes me think about the fact that humanity should come first and under all circumstances people’s humanity should be prioritized. I haven’t seen that during the last few weeks. People live under constant threat - not just the threat that they’re going to be killed but under the threat that things will be missing from the markets, there will be no food tomorrow and there is no privacy. They are put in conditions that hurt their psychological and social well being.