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Beirut -

Fire burned in the face of Palestinian Hanadi Salah Hammoud, the owner of the first oven in Shatila camp, one of the camps in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. She faced the flames of heat, the bitterness of life, and criticism together, but she did not care in order to help her husband secure a decent living and educate her children, in light of the repercussions. The worst living crisis Lebanon has witnessed in several years.

Hanadi, who lived through the refugee journey of the Palestinian Nakba and traveling from one camp to another, moved the oven with her as part of her life and her family, until her situation settled today in the Wadi al-Zeina area - Iqlim al-Kharroub, where thousands of Palestinians and Lebanese live together, and months of fire became aware of the oven that She named it “Friends” after her mother’s library, from which she learned reading, writing, and culture without completing her education.

Hanadi Hammoud faced many challenges and criticism for her work in the bakery, but she faced reality with steadfastness (Al Jazeera)

The smell of bread and Hanadi's journey

Inside the oven, the smell of fresh bread mixed with thyme and delicious cheese wafts, taking you on a journey to the story of Hanadi (50 years old), that stubborn, struggling Palestinian woman who does not give up in the face of any challenge. She is from the town of Deir al-Qasi, Akka district, and a resident of the Shatila camp in Beirut. A wife and mother of 5 children.

Every day, without any break, without getting tired or bored, Hanadi stands in front of her oven, surrounded by the fire of work. Her face is devoid of makeup, and only facial wrinkles appear, expressing a story of perseverance and determination.

Hanadi: Many challenges face women in this profession, but they can be overcome with persistence (Al Jazeera)

She tells Al Jazeera Net the beginning of her journey and says, “I did not like education, even though my father was the director of an UNRWA school, and he insisted on teaching me and teaching my sisters. But I reached the ninth grade and decided to leave school. I started learning hairdressing. I worked in this field.” Until I got married. After that, I stopped working, because I was busy raising our five children, two boys and three girls.”

She continues, "I was determined to educate my children in a different way than before. With the difficult living conditions in light of the Lebanese economic crisis, I decided to work to help my husband, who works as a car mechanic, in securing the needs of our children, especially after they joined universities and the increase in expenses and tuition."

She goes on to say, "My daughter Fatima studied business administration, and my daughter Sarah specialized in studying Sharia. As for my son Bakr, I stood by him until he became an engineer, and he now works in Ukraine, while the other two are still studying."

Umm Bakr decided to open the oven to realize her dream of teaching her children to complete their university studies (Al Jazeera)

Moving between many professions

Hanadi adds to Al Jazeera Net, “I decided to return to work and moved between many professions, and I rented a shop in a school in the Burj Al-Barajneh area. After 3 years had passed, and because of the high rent for the shop, I decided to leave it. From here came the idea of ​​opening a manakish oven in the Shatila camp, so I rented a shop and bought it.” The machines needed for kneading, I bought the oven and gas bottles, and then I started working.”

As the first woman to stand in front of the oven door, Hanadi faced many challenges and criticism in her work journey, but she faced reality with steadfastness. “At the beginning of working in the oven, I heard a lot of criticism. The people around me told me that you cannot continue, this profession is difficult and you cannot continue.” Bear with it. From here, my determination increased to prove to myself first, and to those around me second, that whoever wants can.”

Palestinian Hanadi Salah Hammoud has been working in her bakery for 8 years (Al Jazeera)

Why “Friends Oven”?

She says, "I went down to the oven every morning and started kneading, rolling, and standing in front of the fire. Sometimes I would even go to deliver manakish to homes," and she adds confidently, "About 8 years have passed since then, and here I am standing in front of the fire door in the oven and continuing to work."

Hanadi named her oven “Friends’ Oven,” and says, “This name has a special meaning for me, as my mother founded a library and called it the Friends Library, so I wanted to preserve this name, which my mother loved very much.”

Hanadi goes through moments of fatigue and exhaustion from time to time, but she does not lose hope (Al Jazeera)

According to Hanadi, “I now have many customers. Success in this profession depends on cleanliness, experience, a good soul, and a cheap price. Praise be to God, I combine all of them, and I sell the thyme manoucheh for 40,000 Lebanese pounds, the cheese manoucheh for 120,000 Lebanese pounds, and the dough only for 20,000 Lebanese pounds.” (A dollar is equivalent to about 79 thousand Lebanese pounds). Many people bring thyme and cheese with them, and I sell them the dough and bake only manousheh for them.”

From time to time, Hanadi goes through moments of fatigue and exhaustion, between continuous work for long hours during the fire and standing in front of the oven, meeting customer requests and answering delivery orders, but she never loses hope.

Instead, she looks into the blazing furnace and finds the strength to move forward, driven by her desire to succeed and make a difference in her family's lives.

She always repeats, “I am proud enough that I am the first Palestinian woman to stand in front of the fire door in a bakery inside the Shatila camp.”

Source: Al Jazeera