I didn’t plan on writing a third guest piece on my Palestinian Arabic teacher, Safaa, her husband, Mustafa, who now works for Doctors Without Borders, and their 10-month-old daughter, Lana, all of whom “live” in Gaza City.
I didn’t think I could find any more words to express my sorrow, anger, rage and sense of shame at what Israel is doing to Gaza in the name of my people, the Jewish people. This war of annihilation upon the people of Gaza. But Safaa asked me to share an update on their story.
She made this request of me on Thursday, Sept. 11. My last words to Safaa that day were merely “just survive, please,” a plea. The last two text messages I received from her were sent the morning of Friday, Sept.12.
In both of those messages, the fear and terror in her voice were palpable, she not knowing whether to stay in her in-laws’ home in the center of Gaza City (a single-family home now housing 60 people, mostly extended family, including her parents and younger sister) or to move south.
In those last messages, she rhetorically posed to me many questions: Safaa asked where to go. It costs $2,000 to 3,000 to have someone with transportation move them to an unknown location in the south of Gaza with tents costing a minimum of $1,500. She also asked out loud whether the locations in the south, which are also being bombed daily, would be any safer than her current situation.
She was, perhaps, most terrified that her very young daughter would not be able to get the necessary food and nutrition that she needs in the south. Yet, even on the verge of losing all hope of survival, Safaa closed her last message to me by expressing her hopes for a better day.
Safaa then became unreachable. I did not know why, but I tried to avoid thinking the worst.
I also tried to reach out to both individuals and organizations to locate her, but without success. Because of the generosity of many who responded to my earlier guest pieces, I was hopeful that Safaa and her family, unlike many in Gaza, would have the resources necessary to be able to move her goods and to buy a tent, if needed.
At 3:15 a.m. this past Friday, Sept. 19, I finally received several text messages from Safaa. She and her family had left their home and were able to make it to the south of Gaza, more specifically to Deir Al Balah, just north of Khan Yunis. They were able to buy a tent and rent some land upon which to place a tent.
Amid this absolute nightmare, she told me that she hopes to find a good enough internet network soon to be able to resume classes Thursday. For the moment, I felt a deep sense of relief.
I don’t know what else to say, except that Safaa and her family are in my thoughts constantly. The carnage in Gaza needs to end today but likely won’t be due to the indefensible and inhuman policies of both Israel and America.
Someday, this will all end. I just hope Safaa and her family can survive until then. I am determined to help them, whether they stay in Gaza or are forced to relocate elsewhere.
I end not with my words, but those of Elie Wiesel, the late writer and Romanian Jewish survivor of the Holocaust: “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
Please help Safaa and her family: https://chuffed.org/project/137712-please-help-safaa-and-her-family-in-gaza
Rick Shapiro is a retired public affairs professional who lives in Oakley.