Nesrine Malik
The Guardian / July 31, 2024
Besan Imad Mohamed al-Mabhouh, 31, is a translator and media professional from Rafah.
She left her home with her family, including her three children, at 24 hours’ notice in May. They still haven’t found a tent and are desperate for bare essentials.
Where are you now ?
We are in Deir al-Balah in the middle of Gaza. We used to be in the south, in Rafah. Even when the war started in the north, we never imagined they would enter Rafah. It was a safe area. Then the Israeli army called us and told us we had 24 hours to leave our houses. We left on 5 May.
How did you manage to leave in just 24 hours ?
We took only the necessary things; things to sleep on, some covers. Everything else was lost. All the reports say that the houses in our area are all gone. Even if the war finishes, what is there to go back to?
How many of you evacuated ?
It was me, my husband, my three kids, my mother-in-law, my sister, her husband and her three children. The kids are 12, 11, 10, seven, five and one.
What are the conditions in Deir al-Balah ?
When we arrived it was like Judgment Day. Everyone was running around – cars, trucks, buses full of people. We stayed in the street for a day until we managed to find a spot to sleep on. We still haven’t found a tent. We are still using the things we brought with us to protect our modesty: blankets, sheets, any stretch of cloth you can imagine. We are on the pavement, but others don’t even have that pavement.
The hardest thing is the bathrooms. Some kind people allow us to use their bathrooms; they feel sorry for the women and children. The situation with water is very difficult. The water is sea water; you can imagine the dangers of sea water on the body. We have fresh water that we can buy. We have cooking gas but we can’t cook because things are too expensive. Canned food made the children sick, so we eat things like cheese. We have bread. The kids eat sandwiches all day.
How are the children ?
They are shocked. They sleep on the sand. They got stomach infections, they got skin infections. Even the fresh water, it isn’t clear; you can see it’s polluted. As a mum, how are you going to get them out of their bad mood, psychologically, when you yourself are under pressure, you are stressed, you can’t coexist with these new circumstances? You left your house and room and a thousand spaces you had in your home and you went to a spot in the street. It’s very difficult.
What did you do before the war ?
Our lives were good. I was studying English translation. I work in the media and I am a translator. My husband used to work in a water-cooler distribution company. It’s all gone. Nothing is left. The company is gone. The media organisation I used to work in is gone. Now I work online and do some news reports and interviews on the ground, but it’s very little work.
How do you get paid when you work ?
We receive money for our work, but when you come to withdraw the money you have to pay a commission on it. It’s the only way.
What was life like before 7 October ?
On 7 October our lives were rosy. I used to go to university. Our children would go out and play. On the weekend they would go to the fairground. Now they are just looking for a clean space, somewhere to fill bottles with clean water, a place to go to the toilet, a place where they can shelter from illness. There is not a single safe or clean space in all of Gaza. Even when supplies come in – and some supplies have come in – you want to buy something for them but you can’t. This sense of helplessness is what kills you.
We used to spoil our kids and give them everything they wanted. When I was working and earning, I wanted to make sure my children were accustomed to being comfortable. They would call me at work and ask for things and the moment I finished work I would come home carrying gifts, like a toy car, a PlayStation. They would be so happy. Now I can’t look at them. They look different. Their faces, their clothes are dirty, their skin is burnt from the sun. I look at the little one, carrying a heavy container of water on his back. How their lives have changed. It burns my heart.
What happened to us is not simple. It’s hard for any human brain to take. Now I beg for things: cleaning products, shampoo, laundry soap, even slippers for your feet, these are things you can’t live without. But the prices are unimaginable. You just have to wait for someone to give you charity. What we are living through, no human could absorb. This is not reality. This is not a life.
