Gaza: ‘It’s difficult for children to understand why this is happening’

Gaza | 20th November 2012 - “When all this started last week, it was like any other day in the office. But when we heard that a Hamas leader was killed, I immediately knew that something bad was about to happen. I stayed at the office finishing up some work when my parents called, asking me to head home right away because they feared more strikes would occur over the next few hours. On my way home I saw a rocket being launched right in front of me; I realised then that the 2008 war was happening all over again. Bombing and shelling didn’t stop that night or the day after and my family eventually decided to move to our relatives’ house in a different area; not because it is safer, but being around people and family helps to calm my little sister and my mother.

As I have internet access, I check my email regularly and work from home. I am worried about my colleagues and contact them once a day; they are safe and sound so far. But most importantly, I worry about the families we’re supporting - those who live in the buffer zones or even in cities, and especially those we’ve been unable to contact.

During the 2008 war we had to leave our house at 3am to move to a safer place, so this time we didn’t wait and moved to a safer place straight away. It’s not easy leaving your house and not knowing what might happen: will we be able to return home or will it be destroyed?

And even when a ceasefire will finally come into force, there will be lots of problems here in Gaza. So many people will have lost their homes: they will have nowhere else to go to, no clean water and sometimes not even food.
In my family we don’t have young children but my friends tell me that they are trying to calm their children by telling them that the noise is only fireworks; but the children never believe it. It’s difficult for children to understand why this is happening; they keep wondering if they’ll wake up the next day or not… it’s heart-breaking.”

Action Against Hunger | ACF International provides assistance to some of the most vulnerable communities in Gaza to ensure they have access to sanitation and clean water & income through cash-for-work projects.  Our staff in Gaza is in contact with communities benefitting from these existing programmes on a daily basis and will be assessing the needs on the ground as soon as it is safe to do so.

To read the latest press release on Gaza, click here

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