Hello everyone,

Here is Angham’s introduction, she has so much to say; that’s really what came out of our conversations!

Angham lives in Gaza, and if you can, check out the link at chuffed.org:

chuffed.org/project/1… gaza-verified.org/people/@a…

You can find her on social media : Mastodon : mastodon.social/@anghamrl… Instagram : www.instagram.com/help_omar…

Before the war, she lived in Gaza, in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood.

During the displacement, she was in :

  • an area called Al-Tuffah
  • an area called Tel al-Hawa
  • an area called Industry
  • an area called Sheikh Radwan
  • an area called Al-Jalaa

## Here is her testimony, just as she gave it to me:

I’m Angham I am from Gaza , a mother of two children, Omar and Ayla. I lost my home and have no shelter. I need your support via this link. I’am Angham from Gaza. I am married and have a son and a daughter.

Before the war, our life was simple, beautiful, and stable. My husband worked making Montessori beds for children, as well as gypsum and painting work, and I owned an online children’s clothing store. We had a warm home that brought us together, full of safety and peace.

My son Omar had toys he loved, and I never deprived him of anything, while my baby daughter wore beautiful clothes. When the war began, she was only six months old.

After just forty days of war, we were forced to flee from our home to my father’s house, and only two days later, half of our home was bombed. During that time, two of my husband’s brothers were killed. Shortly after, my mother’s entire family was killed : 36 people in one day.

On that same day, tanks entered our area, and we fled to a kindergarten owned by relatives, but even there we found no safety. The tanks entered again, and we were forced to flee once more.

After the army withdrew, we returned home, but the nightmare repeated itself. The tanks would enter, we would flee, then return, only to run again.

Every time we tried to settle down and I tried to continue teaching my son Omar and bring back some sense of normal life, we were forced to leave under bombing and gunfire. We lived through displacement over and over again, moving from one place to another without safety or stability.

During the famine days, my husband risked his life every day to bring us flour and food. One day, while people were trying to get food, a massacre happened. My uncle was killed in a horrific way, and my son Omar witnessed everything with his own eyes. Since that day, my child has changed deeply, and those scenes still haunt him.

We lived in Shuja’iyya, and because of the intense bombing, we were eventually forced to leave and never return. Later, our home was completely destroyed. We lost our house, our memories, and the life we had spent years building.

Today, I no longer dream of big things. All I wish for is a small, safe home to shelter me, my husband, and my children, a place where we can finally feel safe after all this fear and displacement. I dream that my son Omar can study in a good school, and that my daughter can also have a safe and normal life. My only dream is to start over again and give my children a peaceful life. After that, everything else becomes easier.

Hello Angham, Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions

The past, life in Shuja’iyya :

How would you describe life in Gaza before you were forced to leave, for people who have never been there? Life in Gaza before the war was very beautiful. I loved my life and my beautiful, clean home. Gaza was like paradise

How old were your children when you had to leave? Did they realize what was happening around them? My my son Omar were aged 4 years old and Ayla 6 months. Omar knew everything

What is your educational and professional background? I have a diploma in law assistantship.

What was the school your children attended like? UNRWA ? Omar did not attend school; he was in KG1 when the war began. Now he goes to a school that is not affiliated with UNRWA.

What were their favorite subjects in school ? Omar prefers math, Ayla science

Do you still have any family, besides your children and your husband ? Are you still in touch with them ? Yes, I have relatives, but I lost a lot.

The turning point :

I left my home when tanks entered the area where I live. I left at the last minute

Under the bullets. And the ongoing bombardment

I went to an area where there were no tanks. When they withdrew from my area, I returned to my home.

For almost two months I was in a place with people I didn’t know, without any basic necessities of life, no electricity, no water, no food.

The famine was in northern Gaza. My weight was 50 kg and now it’s 39 kg I was breastfeeding For days I went without food

My husband used to go to the flour mills to get some for us, but he would come back empty-handed.

One day a massacre happened, and my uncle died and was beheaded. After that, we stayed in our house for a month, and the same thing happened again; tanks entered, and we went out to an area called Al-Rimal.

Without anything, there are no clothes, no hygiene products, and no basic necessities of life.

After the clouds disappeared, we returned home again, but each time the house was in ruins and more destroyed than before. This happened repeatedly, and we moved from one place to another.

Before the ceasefire, we walked and slept in the street in the middle of the night to the south. We moved from the north to the south. A region called Al-Maghazi

I didn’t receive any help from anyone, so I started the Showfid campaign.

The concrete present

How is the camp organized today? What exactly are you living in? I live in a place that isn’t mine and I was evicted from it. I can’t live in a tent; I have a phobia of birds and insects. I need someone to help me pay my rent.

How many dollar week and what does that allow you to buy basic necessities and hygiene products, as well as food? I need $300 a week to buy food, hygiene products, and supplies for my children.

What can you buy where you are? The prices here are exorbitant. My child goes to school and I need $200 every month I can’t buy a wardrobe or anything else because the place isn’t mine.

Do your children have internet access for their studies? I receive no assistance and I have no mattress or pillows. It’s all borrowed, not mine.

Is there mutual aid in the camp, and how is it organized? I don’t live in a camp; I’m living somewhere temporarily and I’m trying to go home, but I don’t have the money.

Conclusion

If you could speak to everyone, what would you say to them?

I need someone to pay the rent for me and my children and the school fees for my children. This is the most important thing

After that, I don’t want anything from the world. I just want stability and for my children to get an education.

Things that were mine before the war, I can’t afford to pay for now because I lost everything.