Samah Jabr
Mondoweiss / September 3, 2024
Humanitarian aid in Gaza seeks to preserve human dignity, but dignity cannot be achieved without liberation.
Foreign organizations operating in Gaza under the guise of “humanitarian” aid distribute so-called “dignity kits,” which include basic hygiene items like soap, sanitary pads, toothbrushes, and sometimes underwear. These organizations claim that their aim is to preserve the dignity of individuals, especially women and girls, during crises.
During a recent aid delivery from the British government to a field hospital in Gaza, Foreign Secretary David Cameron stated, “Many people in Gaza are suffering; no one should be without the basics of life like shelter and bedding, and everyone deserves the dignity provided by essential hygiene kits.” This statement, however, contrasts sharply with the UK’s simultaneous support for Israel in its genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
This support includes assisting in military operations, implementing deals with Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government regarding joint training between British and Israeli military personnel, and providing intelligence services against Palestinians, as documented in multiple reports. British aircraft have conducted reconnaissance missions over Gaza, and Israeli military aircraft have visited Britain under undisclosed circumstances. Additionally, the UK facilitates U.S. military support to Israel through its bases in Cyprus. This military alliance is coupled with Britain’s commitment to defending Israel on the global stage against criticisms, particularly at the UN and in international legal forums. Despite these realities, media coverage often focuses on the distribution of dignity kits to Gazans, ignoring the broader context of Israeli actions against Palestinians.
This situation raises a critical question: How does war strip away dignity?
War begins by dehumanizing civilians through speech and actions that reduce them to mere objects in the eyes of aggressors, making the deprivation of their dignity seem acceptable. In Gaza, Israeli officials have likened Palestinians to animals and insects, an attempt to justify their oppression. War forces displacement, uprooting people from their homes and forcing them into overcrowded, degrading conditions, stripping them of control over their lives and deepening their dependence on external aid. Repeated displacements becoming the norm in Gaza have compounded this sense of lost dignity.
War also breaks down family dynamics and the societal fabric that maintains cohesion, further deepening feelings of isolation and helplessness and moving the concept of dignity further away.
In contrast to the aid receiving international attention, maintaining societal cohesiveness is what truly nurtures feelings of dignity. War also destroys essential infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, and water systems, robbing people of their rights to basic needs and further eroding their quality of life. The targeting of healthcare facilities and the killing of medical workers in Gaza exemplify efforts not only to erase lives but also to obliterate the dignity that sustains them.
The distribution of dignity kits by governments and organizations that contribute to or are complicit in the ongoing siege and violence against Gaza is a glaring contradiction.
Continuous exposure to violence and trauma — from home demolitions and shelling to constant surveillance — breeds pervasive fear and insecurity, undermining psychological stability and stripping individuals of the basic sense of security integral to human dignity.
The problem with “dignity kits” in Gaza, therefore, is multifaceted.
The distribution of dignity kits by governments and organizations that contribute to or are complicit in the ongoing siege and violence against Gaza is a glaring contradiction. These entities, while claiming to uphold dignity, are instrumental in creating the conditions that strip Gaza’s people of their humanity and dignity. The distribution of these kits serves as a superficial gesture that obscures their role in perpetuating the root causes of suffering, almost as a means to console the Western conscience by providing some soap to those enduring constant violence.
The notion that dignity can be preserved or restored through basic hygiene items is also deeply troubling. Offering soap to those whose families have been killed and homes destroyed trivializes the concept of dignity, reducing it to mere bodily cleanliness while ignoring the profound psychological and emotional wounds inflicted by injustice. True dignity is an integral feeling that surpasses material items; it encompasses self-respect, human worth, and the ability to live freely and independently.
For the people of Gaza, dignity is inextricably linked to liberation from violence and occupation, the right to self-determination, and access to essential services without dependency on external aid. Providing material goods should not replace support for the Palestinian resistance against genocide. This approach does not address the deeper needs of Gazans or Palestinians and can be seen as an attempt to assuage Western guilt while ignoring ongoing violations of Palestinian rights.
Finally, the focus on women in the distribution of dignity kits often reflects a Western-imposed sensitivity that overlooks the suffering of men, especially those involved in resistance.
Women are often portrayed as helpless victims, while men, particularly Arab Muslim resistance fighters, are either ignored or depicted as less deserving of empathy.
Women are often portrayed as helpless victims in need of special protection, while men, particularly Arab Muslim resistance fighters, are either ignored or depicted as less deserving of empathy. This reinforces traditional stereotypes and excludes men from receiving necessary care, further entrenching gender divisions — as if men are to blame for bringing war upon themselves and other women, which exempts them from Western empathy and dignity kits. True justice requires a comprehensive approach that supports both women and men, recognizing their individual and collective needs.
While dignity kits may provide immediate relief, they are no substitute for true dignity, which can only be restored through liberation from oppression. The term “dignity kits” in Gaza is misleading and superficial, diminishing the profound struggle that Palestinians are engaged in for their freedom.
True dignity is not granted through material items but achieved through the end of violence and the recognition of Palestinians’ rights to self-determination and justice. In Gaza, dignity is a collective value representing the right of the Palestinian people to live in freedom and security. Any attempt to restore dignity through material goods is an arrogant oversimplification of a much deeper struggle.
Samah Jabr is a psychiatrist practicing in the public and private sectors within Palestine in East Jerusalem and the West Bank; she is currently the Head of the Mental Health Unit within the Palestinian Ministry of Health
