My name is Katherine and I am a close friend of Nessreen’s. I feel very fortunate to know her, she is a passionate educator, a loving mother, and an incredibly kind soul. I will include Nessreen’s story in her own words (written approximately three months ago) below:
Hello, I am Nessreen Al Absi, a Palestinian teacher from Gaza. Gaza witnessed more than 250 days of bombing, displacement and genocide. We suffer every minute. We all see how fathers drag their children to pull them out of the rubble, and how mothers run in the street with their prayer utensils. We do not know. Where will they go? How happy children are when they see some biscuits and food! It is impossible for me to forget the moment when I fled our home at one hour with my children. We were warned and asked to move south immediately. Can you imagine how we felt at that time? I literally didn't know and I wanted to go! I have five children who are supposed to be in their loving home and spend their time studying, enjoying the atmosphere of Ramadan and Eid, but unfortunately our house was completely destroyed by war, more than 20 years of fatigue, and all our beautiful memories were lost in the blink of an eye and turned into a pile of stones.
My children have lost their sense of security. They cry constantly and miss their toys, their beautiful clothes, and the piggy banks in which they used to save their Christmas gifts and part of their allowance. They have always become afraid of the sounds of bombing. They suffered from malnutrition and intestinal diseases constantly, and my four children were infected with the hepatitis virus due to drinking contaminated water and eating canned food throughout the war.
Shrapnel penetrated my husband’s body due to the bombing of the market in which he was present. He sat at home for a long time as a result of his injury and the lack of medicine. He spent many hours searching for food and drink. He lost more than 25 kilograms of weight.
There are no minimum requirements for life here. There is no... No water, food, clothes or medicine I am confused and frustrated, and I feel disappointed and helpless in the face of my children’s simple requests. I cannot receive my salary from the bank. I find myself in a very big dilemma in obtaining a small portion of the salary. Our future, our education, and our entire life are gone. We lost the people dearest to us, we lost our homes, what else is left? We don't know what the future holds for us. Our lives have become fraught with danger I was very hesitant about making this link, but my feeling of fear increases day by day, and my family’s feeling of fear prompted me to make this link after all else had been cut off. We did our utmost.Our efforts to find safety have all failed. I want to build my home again so that my children can live in safety Please do not blame us, but the pain is increasing unbearably Help us get safe Thank you for your understanding and help.
