May, 2024
With support from International Relief Teams, Anera is providing fresh produce to displaced families in Gaza.
This is Eman, a mother of seven children. Her eldest is 21, and her youngest is seven. She is from North Gaza Governorate, an area considered one of the most dangerous areas during wars.
"When the soldiers invade, our area is always the hardest hit," she says.
"Since the war broke out on October 7, my neighborhood was the first to evacuate within the first four days. We first fled to an area in Gaza City, and it was the most terrifying time of my life. We literally ran for our lives, with no transportation and no means to get to the south. We begged anyone with a cart or car to help us get closer to safer zones, and we ended up walking most of the way."
Now, Eman and her family are in Deir Al Balah Governorate, living in a tent with nothing — no furniture and no possessions. She says,
“To be honest, every war we’ve experienced in Gaza has forced us to evacuate because of where we live. Each time, we’d go to my parents' house, but after a few days, we’d return home. Maybe I was in denial because I thought this war would be the same as the others. So, I told my children to leave the house carrying nothing because we’d be back in a few days. Seven months later, we still aren’t back home."
"It was the most terrifying time of my life. We literally ran for our lives."
When Eman and her family first left, it was hot. Then they stayed in a tent through the winter. "It was cold, wet, and at times we had no food for days... no way to shower," she says.
Adding to her hardships, Eman has asthma, and the dust and stress makes it worse. "I couldn’t find any medication, and I kept experiencing attacks. My neighbor, who had the same problem, had a few inhalers. When he was killed in the war, his generous family gave me the inhalers he had left behind."
Her children are deeply affected by the war. Eman says that her second child had just finished his senior year of high school last year and was so excited to start college, but because of the war, he couldn’t start his freshman year. "We had saved up money for him and had bought him his bag and all the necessities he needed to start college – he would have been my first child to attend college," she said.
"One of my daughters, Judy, lost her favorite teacher, and since then, she hasn’t been the same. I try to give them classes at home so they don’t forget what they’ve learned last year in school. Judy seems to have completely forgotten her school memories. I’m not sure if it’s a mental issue because she was in shock when she got the news of her teacher."
Behind tears, Eman says that the hardest thing for her during this war was leaving her parents and siblings behind in Gaza City when she decided to flee south. Shortly after she left, she received news that the area her family was in had been bombed. As a result of the attack, her mother’s leg was amputated.
"One of my daughters, Judy, lost her favorite teacher, and since then, she hasn’t been the same."
"I couldn’t help her. I couldn’t go back. I talked to her over the phone, and she was crying, telling me she needed me, and I couldn’t be there for her. It broke me to pieces,” Eman says.
Shortly after, her father suffered a sudden heart attack and eventually passed away. "He was a very strong, independent man,” Eman says of her father. Then her niece was killed.
Eman was receiving one devastating piece of news after another and didn’t have time for her pain to ease and her wounds to heal.
"Later, I got news that the building where my family had moved to in Gaza City was completely destroyed. No one could get there because it was too dangerous. I had to wait a week until it was safe for people to try to rescue them from under the rubble, only to get a phone call saying that all my family, mother, brothers, and sisters, had been killed—15 of them, to be exact."
“My wish is to go to Gaza City and visit my family’s grave and tell them how sorry I am that I left them. I miss them every day."
"I talked to her over the phone, and she was crying, telling me she needed me, and I couldn’t be there for her. It broke me to pieces.”
Despite all this pain, Eman is very thankful that her children are safe and that she is in an area where she can receive aid and support for her children.
Anera, with support from International Relief Teams, has been providing fresh produce baskets to people in need.
"My children love these vegetable baskets. They’re experiencing malnutrition, and they are physically not like they used to be. They constantly feel weak, and I can see how fragile and skinny they are getting and it worries me.
There is nothing more nutritious than a bag of fresh produce. It gives me hope that my children are getting the nutrition they need with these baskets. Since the war, vegetables have become a luxury. I consider myself very lucky to be receiving this fresh produce.”
"Since the war, vegetables have become a luxury."
This program is supported by International Relief Teams
