Ziad, a 35-year-old Palestinian in Gaza, has been writing a diary for the Guardian during Israel’s campaign against Hamas. Here is an excerpt from today:
Every morning, thousands of people are in the streets looking for what they need: food, medicine, blankets, heavy clothes. I saw a mother screaming at her young son in the middle of the street. It turned out that he got distracted and she had been looking for him for almost an hour.
“How would I find you if you got lost?” she screamed. Other women were calming her down.
These days we hear many stories about parents who lost their children, whether while fleeing or in public places. Most of the evacuating people are in these new areas for the first time, they may have passed by them before, or visited, but knowing the area is really difficult when most people have lost their ability to focus due to fear, stress or lack of sleep.
I remember talking to my friend who had a new baby girl months ago. “I know this will sound scary, but please, write on your daughter’s body all the identification information in marker, just in case,” I said. He was silent for a second, then he told me that he agreed with me.
I have witnessed several times the same situation, a group of boys go out to play with a ball, and the parents, usually fathers, would go out angry and tell them to get back inside. “If a bombing happens now, what will happen to you?! Go inside, immediately.”
From the Guardian. A sad read.