I’M FROM GAZA. I’m in Europe with my 13-year-old son, some of my family members are in Egypt, [some] are in the U.S. We all used to live in Gaza. I worked for Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services, Norwegian Refugee Council, and War Child Holland [now War Child Alliance]. I’ve been with War Child for more than eight years. I used to work as a psychosocial support adviser for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Office based in Gaza. We provided light interventions with families — some counseling, some assistance. Now, the need is much bigger.

To be able to heal, children need stability to go to school, to get medical attention, to feel safe again, to have shelter. To not be afraid each day that “I might die, my mom might die tonight, or tomorrow, I might be left alone.” Now, most of the children in Gaza are traumatized.

I experienced one month of this war. We were threatened all the time and asked to leave from one place to another. Imagine facing that for almost two years, to be on the move all the time. Now there’s hunger, [risk of] famine.

Some fathers and mothers, after their children die in the war say, “He or she went back to God ... he’s a bird in heaven.” These words keep people going. I won’t call it resilience [because] what they are enduring now goes far beyond anyone’s ability to cope. It is simply inhumane. Still, people try. Somehow, they find ways to keep going.

I sometimes felt hopeless, helpless, but life goes on, you have to adapt, to cope, to keep hope for a better future. We Palestinians believe that this is our home, we have the right to be here and to live with dignity, safety, and freedom. But it is sad that these children had to pay the price — they’re innocent. All these families had to experience this horrible situation. It’s okay not to be okay.

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