Tawfiq, a father of five, was forced to flee his home after it was destroyed in search of a safe place for his family.
In the war-torn northern Gaza Strip, Tawfiq is a 40-year-old father of five. In addition to displacement, Tawfiq faces an additional challenge, as he was diagnosed with thalassemia, a blood disorder that affects how his body produces hemoglobin.
Tawfiq and his family were living in the northern Gaza Strip, and they were subjected to continuous bombing since the beginning of the war, and their home was destroyed over their heads, and they were miraculously rescued from under the rubble. All this, in addition to the lack of food and basic supplies, eating once a day and relying on legumes and canned foods such as lentils and beans.
Getting the bare minimum for his young children was a major daily challenge, as they struggled to find some basic necessities, trying to survive with the least. Tawfiq says:
The family had been forced to flee before during this escalation, before being forced out again due to the destruction of their home. The children, aged 7, 16, 5, 13 and 11, lived in constant fear and anxiety, their dreams shattered by the sound of airstrikes and tanks. The family made the difficult decision to seek refuge in the southern Gaza Strip, leaving behind their destroyed home and their memories. As they prepared to embark on this unknown journey from Jabalia camp to Gaza City, Tawfiq and his wife had to deal with their own fears and anxieties: “What about our clothes and toys? Why do we have to leave? Where will we go?” They promised them new clothes and toys after the war, hoping, as they tried to calm their children, to make those promises a reality. “We simply explained to them that we were looking for a safe place to keep us all safe,” Tawfiq adds.
The journey to Gaza City was like descending into hell. “We walked and were surrounded by shocking scenes that we could not have imagined in our worst nightmares,” says Tawfiq. “We were not allowed to stop, and we were not able to help the injured people we met along the way.” “I left with just a handbag containing my passports, bread and a bottle of water for the children,” he says. This was the only thing Tawfiq could take with him. Tawfiq and his family’s journey began at 11am, heading to the Gaza City gathering area, a place called Al-Sina’a, which is under the control of UNRWA. The streets were crowded, with tanks and soldiers everywhere along the way, striking fear into the hearts of all those who had left their homes and lives behind in search of safety. “My children were terrified, walking with their heads bowed and crying, with death all around them,” says Tawfiq. The moment Tawfiq and his children arrived at Al-Sina’a was a bittersweet moment of relief. He was reassured that he was safe, but on the one hand, he was afraid that they would have to flee from one place to another. His 16-year-old daughter, Dima, describes the escape journey as a terrifying experience. “It was scary. I saw all the houses destroyed and people dead in the streets. The sight of tanks around us was the most terrifying thing for me. The sight of tanks is really scary.” When Dima is not hiding from the sound of shelling, she loves to draw. Dima said that her drawings are now based on what she sees: tanks, planes, and dead people. “I want to draw happy things like I used to, but there is nothing happy anymore.” Dima wishes the war would end and that they could get their old lives back, and travel abroad. “I used to draw flowers, the sun, and my family. I wish I could travel and live safely with my family.”
Like Tawfiq and his family, more than 1.7 million people in the Gaza Strip were forced to leave their homes behind in search of safe shelter. And to escape death.
