Amman -
With much patience for the pain of losing her husband and three children, and with determination and faith, Abeer Rashid, in her thirties, moves around the clothing store where she started working a month ago, packing accessories and cosmetics, and arranging head scarves and women's bags.
Between packing and arranging, she stands for a moment, contemplating the image of her children who were lost in the collapse of a residential building in the Lweibdeh area in mid-September 2022, after they died under the rubble.
It is a collapse that made her lose her hopes and dreams, emptied her bosom of touching their faces and smelling their scent, and vanished their laughter and screams forever.
According to a report published by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the collapse of the center column in the Al-Amarah settlement was the cause of the collapse of the Al-Weibdeh residential building, and the collapse was due to maintenance work.
Umm Muhammad decided to return to life and opened a clothing store in the Lweibdeh area (Al-Jazeera)
But Abeer did not lose hope and did not give in to sadness and isolation, and decided to "return to life" and opened a clothing store in the Al-Weibdeh area, opposite the site of the collapsed building, and called it "Khansa Al-Weibdeh" after the patience of the famous companion and poet Tamader Al-Salamiyah, known as "Al-Khansa".
The opening of its store witnessed a turnout and interaction from the people of the region, the media and solidarity activists.
A few days ago, Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah visited her in the shop, accompanied by his fiancée, Princess Rajwa Al-Saif, providing her with psychological and moral support.
Abeer did not give in to sadness and isolation (Al-Jazeera)
Cling on to hope
Abeer’s husband was diagnosed with cancer suddenly, after a marriage that lasted more than 17 years. He died two years ago and left her with 3 children: Muhammad (17 years), Amira (12 years) and Malak (7 years). alone after them.
Abeer tells Al-Jazeera Net that after her husband's death, two years ago, she began working on distributing clothing and accessories through the means of communication, and through her social relations, relatives, acquaintances, and teachers of her children at school, and she was planning with her son Muhammad to open a clothing store with a modest capital.
Umm Muhammad lost her husband two years ago and her three children last year (Al-Jazeera)
She added, "I used to work during the back-to-school seasons, selling and marketing stationery, school uniforms, and bags, and distributing those items in the car that my husband left me after his death, and my children helped me distribute, carry and transport the items, in addition to the holidays and events seasons."
It is noteworthy that Abeer moved after marriage to live in the Lweibdeh area, in central Amman, where she lived the most beautiful days of her life and had her three children there, and she was devoted to raising and caring for them, refusing any work that distracted her from her children, but God willing, she would leave them.
With the loss of her children, she decided to leave Lweibdeh and not return.
She did not expect to open a shop next to the building in which her children died. "The decision to return to Lweibdeh and reside there was not easy," says Abeer, but her commemoration of her children, and the people's standing with her, gave her strength and determination.
Abeer: I am visited by many people whom I do not know, some of whom console me, and some of them who make me laugh and shower me with kindness (Al-Jazeera)
People's solidarity and sympathy
The state of popular solidarity enabled her to "return to life" and work again, and the place changed her outlook on life.
"I am visited by many people whom I do not know. Some of them console me, and some of them make me laugh and shower me with their kindness, and some of them share their worries and joys," says Abeer.
The patient woman was determined to support her visitors with "positive energy and a desire for life despite the pain," and began receiving handicraft products created by women in the Lweibdeh area, as a contribution to providing community support to those in need, and supporting the people who supported her in her ordeal.
Muhammad's friends are not absent from the "Khansa'a Al-Weibdeh" store, helping her and relieving her of the pain of memories (Al-Jazeera)
In a voluntary initiative, she began arranging visits for cancer patients in an Amman hospital, to provide psychological and moral support to patients, provide them with hope and invite them to embrace life, despite the pain of treatment and disease. Her visits were welcomed and praised, she said.
The "Khansaa Al-Weibdeh" shop witnesses frequent visits from the people of the collapsed architecture, exchanging memories with Abeer, and drawing life with the feather of hope.
The shop is not absent from the friends of her son Muhammad, who pack the goods with her, help her at work, and relieve her of painful memories.
Abeer with some of her deceased son's friends helping her arrange (Al-Jazeera)
In a royal initiative, the head of the Royal Court, Youssef Al-Issawi, handed over a few days ago the registration documents for apartments for 5 families affected by the collapse of the Lweibdeh building, including an apartment that belonged to Abeer Rashid, equipped with all basic necessities of furniture and electrical appliances, in a way that ensures a decent life for families in Safe and healthy environment.