The Ramadan atmosphere in Gaza in the past was distinctive and brought the family together (Al Jazeera)

Doha -

Dr. Fawzia Bakri, mother of the martyr Muhammad Nisman, could not control her tears when we asked her about her feelings as she spent the holy month of Ramadan in Qatar, far from Gaza. Her voice was overcome by oppression, and she was unable to answer Al Jazeera Net’s question, and she asked to hang up the phone and postpone the conversation for a while.

On the surface, it seems as if the suffering, pain, and oppression that the people of Gaza are experiencing are confined to Gaza, under the demolished buildings, the destroyed hospitals, and the dismembered body parts hanging on the walls of the afflicted city. But there is another story that has not been told, the one experienced by mothers, fathers, and brothers outside the Gaza Strip, who taste both things, as they are the ones grieving for their families. Inside, they are the same people trapped in their memories and their past, suffering the pain of separation from their land and loved ones.

We contacted Dr. Fawzia, the Palestinian Gazan resident in Qatar, and she responded enthusiastically by saying, “Ramadan in Gaza is different from anywhere in the world. As its holy days approached, we used to go to the central popular markets and stores to buy food, juices, meat, and all the supplies for the Gaza Ramadan trip.”

She added, "I cannot forget Al-Zawiya Market (the oldest market in Gaza), which is decorated with colorful Ramadan decorations, nor the lanterns that are hung everywhere, and people have been arriving since the morning, and the vendors on the sidewalks, and the 'stalls' filled with goods, gifts, and new clothes."

The spokeswoman continued, "We used to go to the market with my sister and our children at the beginning of the holy month, and we would shop and cook the most delicious Palestinian food. We did not deprive ourselves of anything, and now everything has been destroyed... and nothing remains in Gaza except the memory."

Gaza is resilient and will win

Dr. Fawzia is confident that Gaza will be rebuilt, will withstand the Israeli aggression, and will be victorious, recalling the aggression of 2014 during Ramadan, when the people of Gaza lived the holy month under bombardment, destruction, displacement, starvation, and severe siege, but Gaza and its people passed through the devastating catastrophe at that time, and they will get through their affliction now with steadfastness. The people of Gaza and the resistance of its men.

The mother of the martyr Muhammad Nisman says that she lives a quiet life in Qatar. She left Gaza 3 days before the war, and with the beginning of the Israeli aggression, Fawzia lost a number of her relatives. A few days later, she learned that her son Muhammad, his wife, and his three children were martyred in an Israeli bombing of his house in Gaza. Fawzia confirms that The light of life went out inside her after the separation of her loved ones.

From her voice, it was clear that Fawzia had lost passion for everything, and even Ramadan rituals no longer had any flavor in her life. She said, “It seems that I will not feel the joy of Ramadan and the joy of Eid until I die... So how can I be happy when my grandchildren’s Zionist missiles have broken their bones and their skulls under the rubble? How can I be happy when my grandchildren have had their bones and skulls broken by Zionist missiles under the rubble? And my people in Gaza are being slaughtered in front of the world.”

Musab and his family in Gaza last Ramadan (Al Jazeera)

Hunger besieges Gaza

The advent of the holy month of Ramadan in Gaza this year coincides with the suffering of its besieged residents, due to a devastating Israeli aggression and a famine that is spreading and expanding daily.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported in a report hours before the month of Ramadan that hunger is everywhere in the Gaza Strip, and that the situation has become tragic, as ground aid is prevented despite repeated appeals.

Musaab Samir, a photojournalist from Gaza who lives in Qatar, believes that the joy of the arrival of Ramadan will remain on hold until the anguish is relieved from his family and loved ones in Gaza. “We cannot rejoice at the arrival of Ramadan. We have martyrs and wounded. Our hearts burn for them while they are far away,” he expressed his hope. Ramadan will not end unless the war is over and Gaza has won.

Musab explained in an interview with Al Jazeera Net that most of his relatives in Gaza are now cooking food on the fire of a wood stove that they find after trouble, and there are no cooking utensils. Everything is expensive. “The people of Gaza are not in the mood for Ramadan rituals like previous years.”

Aid is not enough

Musab focused on the factor of hospitals being out of service, which will place the residents of Gaza during Ramadan in tragic conditions in light of the war and destruction that befell the Strip, in addition to internal migration and overcrowding of the population in the city of Rafah, where the number of displaced people has reached about one million and 300 thousand, living in tents on an area It does not exceed 50 kilometers, in the absence of water, electricity, or medicine, in addition to food and drink.

Regarding prices, Musab confirmed that they are rising like crazy, and the aid does not meet the needs of the population. The news he receives from his area in Khan Yunis says that the people are searching for flour but cannot find it, as well as sugar, rice, vegetables and fruits, and all the necessities of life are missing in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli war over the past 5 months has had a wide impact on the Palestinian economy, most notably the lack of basic necessities for life among citizens, the interruption of food supplies, and the insane doubling of the prices of available foods, which increases the burden on the citizens in the Gaza Strip, who lost their homes and jobs.

For the first time, the month of Ramadan has passed for the Palestinian people under these conditions, as reports indicate a severe shortage of major commodities such as sugar, rice, and foodstuffs.

Get used to being hungry

Farid Omar Al-Nawasrah says that the month of Ramadan this year will be his first in Qatar and outside Gaza, and this is what will make Ramadan difficult from a psychological and moral aspect, adding that he lives alone in Qatar, which ignites within him a longing for the gathering of family and friends at the Gaza Ramadan tables.

Farid did not hide the feeling of pain he felt while he was in Qatar, while the people of Gaza inside were being bombed and killed day and night. He said, “Our people in Gaza will welcome Ramadan this year with their empty stomachs and naked bodies. Fasting for them will not be strenuous, as they have been accustomed to hunger for more than 5 months, and most of them eat one meal a day at best, which does not enrich them or satisfy their hunger.”

Farid, who left Gaza two months after the war, said that when he was in the Gaza Strip, he reached a point where he almost died of hunger due to the lack of food and drink, and a piece of bread at that time was considered a precious treasure. “So what is the situation today, after 5 months? People in Gaza cannot find A drink of water, and they will spend the month of Ramadan praying for salvation and the end of the war.”

In previous years, Farid described Ramadan in Gaza as a month of joy, goodness, and gathering with relatives and friends. The day before Ramadan, the streets and markets were filled with people, and everyone went to buy decorations and lanterns, while children everywhere expressed their joy at the arrival of the holy month.

Today, Farid says, “The mosques that used to gather worshipers for Tarawih prayers were demolished, the children’s laughter fell silent, and many of them were buried under the rubble of the homes that were destroyed, and even the seashore, which used to bring families together to break their fast during the month of Ramadan to watch the sunset, was bombed, and the restaurants and cafes surrounding it were destroyed.” “Nothing remains the same in Gaza now.”

Source: Al Jazeera