Marhaba!
My name is Salah. Nice to meet you! I would like to tell you a little bit about myself and my situation during the horrors in Gaza. The picture on the left is one of the very few I have left from before the war.
Life before the war
"I used to play football, and I loved it very much. I often watched matches on television, supporting Barcelona and enjoying their games at night. There was a small stadium near my house where my friends and I would play small but wonderful matches every day. However, I haven't played football for a long time. Due to the current situation and the destruction of power stations, resulting in a lack of electricity, I haven't been able to watch the matches either. It has became something of the past.
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Many memories still linger in my mind: waking up in the morning, going to university with my friends, riding the bus, enjoying the day through lectures, and sitting with some friends, many of whom were martyred, including my dearest friend Muhammad. We used to go to university every day and sit with each other. I loved lectures very much and sitting to listen and learn more and more. I loved the software development and management course. It had a wonderful teacher. I loved that lecture, and it was three days a week.
They were wonderful days, and I remember out going with friends after university, eating in a restaurant, sitting by the sea, laughing, and wonderful conversations, all of this I missed. The war erased all of this. The university was destroyed, friends left, and everything became difficult. No one could bear it or believe it anymore. These are really painful memories, and yet, they are my best memories. This is what I miss most, because my friends and these times will never come back."
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Life during war
We were forced to leave our home in Rafah, when the IOF dropped leaflets and bombed us, giving us little time to escape. We fled to the Al-Balad area, but after two days, artillery shells reached us there as well. We then moved closer to the sea, but the occupation forces advanced towards us again. We sought refuge in tents, moving from one tent to another until we reached Deir Al-Balah. During this period, there were times when my father and I had to sleep in the open air under the threat of planes and bombings, with no protection. It was a difficult and disastrous time.
Imagine, a person who lost his entire family and has no one left. How will he continue to live? It is beyond what you can fathom. Imagine, you drink and eat only unhealthy things filled with preservatives. Imagine, children getting diseases like hepatitis. Imagine, you are sitting in the dark for the entire duration of the war due to the lack of electricity. Imagine, that there is no work and the prices of food are extremely high. Imagine, a person who cannot feed his children. Imagine we feel stressed, day and night, afraid and anxious all the time.
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Can you imagine how devestated I was, receiving the news that my house was targeted? I can't even tell know if it is true or not. No one can reach the area, because it is so dangerous. Everything I had, is gone. We fled in a hurry, leaving everything behind. My bed that I miss and will never return to. My room, my sisters’ room and the sofa where we sat together. We did not bring any shoes with us except the ones on our feet. We can not get back our precious belongings or our old life. But I do hope you can help me get some necessities in order to live."
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