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Follow this refugee family’s quest for survival in Gaza

Follow this refugee family’s quest for survival in Gaza

Last updated on: January 6, 2024 at 10:06 am by Kathryn Shihadah

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Follow this refugee family’s quest for survival in Gaza 2024-01-06T10:06:24-05:00 Kathryn Shihadah

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The crisis in Gaza keeps deteriorating. Headlines have been filled with superlatives – quoting human rights leaders who have spent years in conflict zones. A few examples:

“No words adequately capture the depth of human suffering in Gaza” (Jagan Chapagain, secretary-general of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IFRC, the world’s largest humanitarian network)

“Endless tragedy, hell on earth” (Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees)

Death, destruction in Gaza “unprecedented and unbearable to witness” (Defense for Children International)

“We Are No Strangers to Human Suffering, but We’ve Seen Nothing Like the Siege of Gaza” (Leaders of CARE USA, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam America, Refugees International, Save the Children U.S.)

“Half of Gaza is now starving” (World Food Program)

Gaza is “the most dangerous place in the world to be a child” (UNICEF)

Strong words indeed, and sobering. But faceless. The numbers of dead and injured keep growing – but to most of us, they are just numbers. What’s the difference between 20,000 dead and 21,000 dead? It’s nearly meaningless.

Our relatives ride on a flatbed truck toward the south of Gaza, bringing with them a few necessities and leaving behind all the rest of their earthly goods.

I can say, “these are real people, families!” and you will nod – and then go about your business.

And the headlines will continue to grow more intense as the situation in Gaza grows even more dire. Thousands more body bags will fill; mass graves will be dug. Epidemics will multiply the casualties, as 2 million anonymous nobodies crowd into smaller and smaller areas that lack proper hygiene.

Many that escape the bombs and diseases will be wiped out by starvation.

My husband’s family (they are my family too) in Gaza want to share some of their story with you, as they try to navigate the reality of the “absolutely unprecedented and unbearable” situation they are in.

It’s not easy for them to talk about what they’re going through, but they desperately want someone to know that they – all the people of Gaza – are ordinary human beings, who are going through extraordinary hardship.

They hope, and I hope, that their faces and stories will touch your heart in a way that statistics and headlines don’t.

We are painfully aware that many Christians are supportive of this war, and they think of Palestinians as a horde of barbarians. This is a lie. Until Christians understand this, we are complicit in genocide. That word should fill us with horror.

Please join me for this unfolding, true saga. We would be grateful to know someone cares. (If you are already a subscriber, please encourage someone to subscribe so we can together get the truth out – for the sake of justice and peace.)

I’ll also share some ways that we can respond to this travesty, rather than just sitting back and watching it play out.

I’ve written about our family several times since the war began. Have a look:

In Gaza, she now inhabits a solitary space between life and death

Update from loved ones – this is what it’s like to be alive in Gaza right now

I write about the Palestine-Israel issue regularly, and other issues relevant to progressives or those considering becoming progressive. If that sounds interesting, I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter. If you would like to comment on this post, please pop over to my Facebook page. All of my posts are there and open to constructive comment. I welcome your thoughts.

Here are more recent posts on Palestine and Israel:

first hand account gaza

About Kathryn Shihadah

I was raised as a conservative Christian, and was perfectly content to stay that way – until the day my stable, predictable world was rocked. A curtain was pulled back on conservative Christianity, and instead of ignoring the ugliness I saw, I confronted it. I began to ask questions I never thought I’d ask, and found answers I’d never expected. Old things began to fall away, and – behold! – the new me has come. What a gift to be a new, still-evolving creation. I found out that it’s better to look at the world through Progressive Lenses, with Grace-Colored Glasses. You can read more about the author here.

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December 26, 2023

The lies we believe about Gazan Christians are killing them