Palestine: ‘No sign of normal life’
Namibian Sun journalist Jemima Beukes (JB) interviewed Palestinian writer and journalist Bothaina Hamden (BH) to get on-the-ground insight into the lived experiences of her people in the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel.
JB: Can you describe how the current situation in Palestine has affected you and your family?
BH: Since the aggression started against Gaza particularly, we are living a critical conditions in the West Bank (WB). We are worried all the time about all the people around us, our families, neighbours and ourselves too. Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) invaded my city Ramallah where I work and village Birzeit where I live, several times, day and night. They put an iron gate to separate Birzeit and Ramallah from other tens of villages. Many of these villages benefit from the medical and governmental services in Birzeit and Ramallah. For instance, the IOF invaded the neighbourhood where I work in Al-Balo’ and killed an innocent child who was walking in the street. Our ministry of culture had to send messages in the early morning to all employees who didn’t reach the ministry yet not to come, and those who reached it not to leave until the Israeli withdrawal. We, I and my colleagues, are afraid to let our children out. The whole brutal Israeli killing in Gaza, the genocide, has affected us mentally. We are feeling hopeless sometimes as none of any of the huge demonstrations around the world could achieve a ceasefire. After millions demonstrated, Israel targeted more and more civilian families, hospitals, children and even infants and premature babies. The invasion means suspicious movements and predicting where the soldiers will stop. Which house will they attack? Who will they arrest or kill? We wait to see what will happen at night. Shooting and bombing and screaming. It is completely unstable situation. After they withdraw, I have to try to sleep and wake up normally like nothing has happened, push away my fears, take my children to school, say goodbye to them. I have to strengthen myself, leaving them alone, knowing their school is not safe either.
JB: How would you describe your experience in the WB?
BH: Working in the WB is not stable, all my colleagues from outside Ramallah cannot reach it. I haven’t see them at all since the aggression because of the Israeli siege surrounding the WB, between cities and villages. Many of my friends in the private sector have lost their jobs - most of the organisations and companies are not functioning well. All we can do is to help Gaza, prepare reports about loss of lives and damages, which is not easy. Collecting information about Gaza, contacting our loved ones is so difficult and often impossible. Israel has cut off telecom power and refused to let fuel enter Gaza. Many companies are trying to change their audience to abroad, trying to increase outsourcing. No signs of normal life - all the billboards have changed, targeting Gaza in all its black billboards. The governmental employees didn’t receive their complete salaries since November 2021. Monthly, we take only 85% of our salaries and since the aggression, 245 000 employees in Gaza and WB didn’t take their salary at all, because the Israeli occupation authority refused to transform the tax to the Palestinian authority. This month, Israel declared that they will transform tax excluding Gaza, and the Palestinian government has refused that. Palestinians are stuck in Gaza. They need every single coin to live.
JB: As a mother, how do you navigate the challenges of ensuring the safety and well-being of your children?
BH: I have two children – Salma is 13 and Yousef is 10. We haven’t gone anywhere for any kind of entertainment since the aggression for two main reasons: For psychological reasons, after all the tragic photos and news from Gaza, and for security reasons as I can’t imagine as a mother that one of my children are somewhere in the city and something happened – Israeli invasion - and I can’t be with them, trying to protect them. I am trying not to turn on the news in front of them because of the horrible photos from Gaza. As my daughter uses social media, I keep asking her not to open videos from Gaza, asking her how she feels when she sees anything. She always answers: “I see and share and nothing affected me, I am strong”. My son had his birthday on 7 November. He couldn’t wait, for months he has been designing his day, searching for his favourite design of cake and preparing a list of invitees. I said to myself: He turned 10 and I am happy for him, but I'm not happy at the same time. We’ve seen and heard many horrible photos and sounds of wiped out families and children in Gaza that cannot be forgotten. My tears are waiting every night until my children’s bedtime before they flow. Yes, I need to cry. I need to call my friends and check daily to see if they are alive. They send me messages or voice notes: “We are still alive” or “please forgive us, we might not be here in this life tomorrow”, or crying but stop when they hear my children calling. I said to my little boy “why should you organise a birthday during this killing of our people in Gaza?” He stared at me, and said: “What is the relation of my birthday party with what is happening to Gaza?" When he blew out the birthday candle, he closed his eyes - made a secret wish and non-secret one: “God bless all children in Gaza, let them live”. In the background of each moment of happiness, we keep our tears inside. I spend my time collecting money, sending news through messages as they don’t have electricity or internet connection all the time. They are disconnected.
JB: As a woman, what specific challenges do you and other women in Palestine face?
BH: The most prominent problems for women in Gaza is preserving huge quantities of painkillers, period kits and wet wipes for personal hygiene. The pregnant women here are having daily nightmares to reach their due date and not make it to the hospital because of daily invasions and checkpoints. Also, how pregnant women and children are suffering in Gaza cause more worries for women here. My friend is pregnant and living in Jenin city, which is alike to the Gaza situation - facing daily bombing, shooting and demolishing of buildings. She can’t sleep the whole night because of the horrible sounds of attacking the city and its refugee camp, and in the morning starts her day with painkillers and trying to reach work.
JB: How has the conflict influenced your perspective on the future and your aspirations for your family?
BH: The future is overwhelming here as we expect to be exposed to genocide operations by IOF. It is overwhelming when parents think that one day they won’t be able to protect their children. One of my friends in Gaza walked 10 kilometres in order to lend money only to buy bread, and when he got the money, the bread was out. His son that night slept with an empty stomach! It is such a weird idea and we cannot imagine that in these millennium ages, we might live similar conditions and even worse when United Nations help and services are banned, like all kinds of supplies. This is what is happening in Gaza. People are starving and thirsty. This is because of the brutality of Israel and the whole world cannot stop the killing in Gaza, despite all huge demonstrations and boycotting of products of Israel and the United States of America and other accomplice countries.
JB: Can you describe how the current situation in Palestine has affected you and your family?
BH: Since the aggression started against Gaza particularly, we are living a critical conditions in the West Bank (WB). We are worried all the time about all the people around us, our families, neighbours and ourselves too. Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) invaded my city Ramallah where I work and village Birzeit where I live, several times, day and night. They put an iron gate to separate Birzeit and Ramallah from other tens of villages. Many of these villages benefit from the medical and governmental services in Birzeit and Ramallah. For instance, the IOF invaded the neighbourhood where I work in Al-Balo’ and killed an innocent child who was walking in the street. Our ministry of culture had to send messages in the early morning to all employees who didn’t reach the ministry yet not to come, and those who reached it not to leave until the Israeli withdrawal. We, I and my colleagues, are afraid to let our children out. The whole brutal Israeli killing in Gaza, the genocide, has affected us mentally. We are feeling hopeless sometimes as none of any of the huge demonstrations around the world could achieve a ceasefire. After millions demonstrated, Israel targeted more and more civilian families, hospitals, children and even infants and premature babies. The invasion means suspicious movements and predicting where the soldiers will stop. Which house will they attack? Who will they arrest or kill? We wait to see what will happen at night. Shooting and bombing and screaming. It is completely unstable situation. After they withdraw, I have to try to sleep and wake up normally like nothing has happened, push away my fears, take my children to school, say goodbye to them. I have to strengthen myself, leaving them alone, knowing their school is not safe either.
JB: How would you describe your experience in the WB?
BH: Working in the WB is not stable, all my colleagues from outside Ramallah cannot reach it. I haven’t see them at all since the aggression because of the Israeli siege surrounding the WB, between cities and villages. Many of my friends in the private sector have lost their jobs - most of the organisations and companies are not functioning well. All we can do is to help Gaza, prepare reports about loss of lives and damages, which is not easy. Collecting information about Gaza, contacting our loved ones is so difficult and often impossible. Israel has cut off telecom power and refused to let fuel enter Gaza. Many companies are trying to change their audience to abroad, trying to increase outsourcing. No signs of normal life - all the billboards have changed, targeting Gaza in all its black billboards. The governmental employees didn’t receive their complete salaries since November 2021. Monthly, we take only 85% of our salaries and since the aggression, 245 000 employees in Gaza and WB didn’t take their salary at all, because the Israeli occupation authority refused to transform the tax to the Palestinian authority. This month, Israel declared that they will transform tax excluding Gaza, and the Palestinian government has refused that. Palestinians are stuck in Gaza. They need every single coin to live.
JB: As a mother, how do you navigate the challenges of ensuring the safety and well-being of your children?
BH: I have two children – Salma is 13 and Yousef is 10. We haven’t gone anywhere for any kind of entertainment since the aggression for two main reasons: For psychological reasons, after all the tragic photos and news from Gaza, and for security reasons as I can’t imagine as a mother that one of my children are somewhere in the city and something happened – Israeli invasion - and I can’t be with them, trying to protect them. I am trying not to turn on the news in front of them because of the horrible photos from Gaza. As my daughter uses social media, I keep asking her not to open videos from Gaza, asking her how she feels when she sees anything. She always answers: “I see and share and nothing affected me, I am strong”. My son had his birthday on 7 November. He couldn’t wait, for months he has been designing his day, searching for his favourite design of cake and preparing a list of invitees. I said to myself: He turned 10 and I am happy for him, but I'm not happy at the same time. We’ve seen and heard many horrible photos and sounds of wiped out families and children in Gaza that cannot be forgotten. My tears are waiting every night until my children’s bedtime before they flow. Yes, I need to cry. I need to call my friends and check daily to see if they are alive. They send me messages or voice notes: “We are still alive” or “please forgive us, we might not be here in this life tomorrow”, or crying but stop when they hear my children calling. I said to my little boy “why should you organise a birthday during this killing of our people in Gaza?” He stared at me, and said: “What is the relation of my birthday party with what is happening to Gaza?" When he blew out the birthday candle, he closed his eyes - made a secret wish and non-secret one: “God bless all children in Gaza, let them live”. In the background of each moment of happiness, we keep our tears inside. I spend my time collecting money, sending news through messages as they don’t have electricity or internet connection all the time. They are disconnected.
JB: As a woman, what specific challenges do you and other women in Palestine face?
BH: The most prominent problems for women in Gaza is preserving huge quantities of painkillers, period kits and wet wipes for personal hygiene. The pregnant women here are having daily nightmares to reach their due date and not make it to the hospital because of daily invasions and checkpoints. Also, how pregnant women and children are suffering in Gaza cause more worries for women here. My friend is pregnant and living in Jenin city, which is alike to the Gaza situation - facing daily bombing, shooting and demolishing of buildings. She can’t sleep the whole night because of the horrible sounds of attacking the city and its refugee camp, and in the morning starts her day with painkillers and trying to reach work.
JB: How has the conflict influenced your perspective on the future and your aspirations for your family?
BH: The future is overwhelming here as we expect to be exposed to genocide operations by IOF. It is overwhelming when parents think that one day they won’t be able to protect their children. One of my friends in Gaza walked 10 kilometres in order to lend money only to buy bread, and when he got the money, the bread was out. His son that night slept with an empty stomach! It is such a weird idea and we cannot imagine that in these millennium ages, we might live similar conditions and even worse when United Nations help and services are banned, like all kinds of supplies. This is what is happening in Gaza. People are starving and thirsty. This is because of the brutality of Israel and the whole world cannot stop the killing in Gaza, despite all huge demonstrations and boycotting of products of Israel and the United States of America and other accomplice countries.
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