“In the Nuseirat refugee camp, we have carried out extensive campaigns of social solidarity. They include initiatives that alleviate the suffering of displaced people in UNRWA schools and in all areas of Gaza, amid the ongoing war,” Talal Ayad, a young activist in Gaza, told The Palestine Chronicle
“Since the spread of the displaced in UNRWA schools, we have conducted many volunteer campaigns,” Ayad said, adding: “These include volunteer campaigns to distribute drinking water and food. We have also conducted campaigns for free haircuts, and other efforts to alleviate peoples’ suffering.”
Food Delivery to the Displaced
The Al-Nuseirat camp’s charity in central Gaza was among the first to initiate the distribution of food to families seeking shelter in UNRWA schools.
The director of the charity, Raed Al-Taweel, told us, “We felt the necessity of mutual support and increased social solidarity with those displaced from Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip. We reorganized the volunteer team, increasing its numbers of participants, to ensure that food reaches the largest number of displaced individuals.”
Al-Taweel said, “In our work at the Al-Nuseirat charity, we provide one meal a day to one shelter or to the displaced in one school. We rely on the contributions of food and other items from the families of Nuseirat. We prepare the meals over a fire, as there is no cooking gas. Every day we deliver the food to a shelter school.”
He continued, “Ladies and young people cook the food on the fire, and then we deliver the food using a cart pulled by a horse or donkey because there is no fuel to operate the motorcycle designated for the charity.”
“The effort we make is not sufficient for a small portion of the displaced in one school. We cook a large pot of lentil, beans, peas, or legumes. However, the relief effort needed by the residents of the Gaza Strip requires the work of international and large state institutions. Still, we are carrying out this initiative to increase mutual support and solidarity among us and to enhance the resilience of the people of Gaza in the face of Israeli occupation.”
The headquarters of the Al-Nuseirat charity has been severely damaged in the bombing campaign. Most of the equipment inside has been destroyed by the Israeli shelling. Inspite of these circumstances, members of the charity are determined to continue their relief efforts.
Filling Sweet Water
Adnan Imad, the muezzin (the one who announces the call to prayer) of Al-Farouq Mosque in the Nuseirat refugee camp, stated, “Since the beginning of the war, we have been filling sweet and potable water from the sweet water well located in the mosque. We open the mosque before each prayer, and people fill their containers.”
Imad added, “This effort poses a significant risk to us. The occupation has targeted many mosques nearby, such as the bombing of the Ahmad Yassin Mosque and Salah Shahada Mosque. Many mosques in Nuseirat have suffered extensive damage.”
Ahmed Al-Saydawi, the muezzin of the Azzam Mosque in Nuseirat, stated, “At the beginning of the war, we opened the mosque for people to fill water and charge batteries for nighttime use through solar energy dedicated to the mosque.”
Al-Saydawi added, “The occupation targeted the mosque’s minaret twice, which led us to close the mosque for a long period. However, this affected the people and caused significant hardship for all the residents of the neighborhood. Therefore, we resumed opening the mosque and continued to serve the neighborhood residents with the available modest resources for water and battery charging.”
Free Haircuts
Majdi Saafeen, a local barber stated, “After the war surpassed a month, we conducted multiple campaigns for free haircuts for a large number of kids taking shelter in the UNRWA schools.”
Saafeen continued, “I own a center for teaching the art of barbering and hair styling. I formed a team of young people and barbers, organizing free haircut campaigns with the aim of reducing the spread of diseases and alleviating the suffering of our displaced people.”
“All residents of the Gaza Strip show solidarity among themselves according to each person’s ability and the profession they possess. It was our duty as barbers to organize free haircuts for the displaced. We all need to increase solidarity among ourselves, demonstrating unity in all aspects of our lives, with confidence that victory will be on our side. The siege will be broken soon, and Gaza will return to its beauty as it once was.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Abdallah Aljamal is a Gaza-based journalist. He is a contributor for The Palestine Chronicle from the Gaza Strip. His email is abdallahaljamal1987@gmail.com
