By Angela Hill, Communications Delegate, Canadian Red Cross
Amr is a media officer with the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Like many of his colleagues, his family has been impacted by the ongoing conflict in Gaza. We first introduced Amr after his family fled the north of Gaza to Khan Younis. We connected with him after his family had to flee again, this time to Rafah, and then one year after the escalation of hostilities.
Since then, Amr and his immediate family were able to return to their family home, an apartment, in Gaza City. By some miracle the building was still standing, but there is extensive damage as well as vandalism. The family is sleeping under a roof they fear could collapse.
Warehouses are nearly empty, there are no more food distributions, and very few of the remaining humanitarian-run bakeries providing bread are able to operate due to a lack of flour.
“With the ongoing struggle to access basic necessities like water and food, and with prices soaring, it’s becoming harder every day to meet even the most basic needs,” Amr said in a text message.
Photo: Amr Ali / Palestine Red Crescent Society
“Every day, I navigate through destruction and fear, working with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to document the society’s response, the relentless suffering of my people and provide help where I can.”
Photo: Amr Ali / Palestine Red Crescent Society
“When I am at work, I carry the unbearable weight of leaving my family behind in a city where death strikes without warning,” Amr said. He describes this ongoing fear that all Gazans are facing as soul crushing.
He has lost friends and family, including his brother-in-law and a brother.
People in Gaza want others to know about the real situation they are facing, Amr said.
“Gaza is a place where you can see a doctor who lost his family while saving others, families living in cemeteries, a boy who lost his entire family, a little girl asking for her mother who was killed,” he said.
Amr met a girl who writes her name on her hand, so if she dies, she can be identified, and her family informed.
Despite this unending heartbreak, Amr finds small moments of beauty, a bird singing from the wreckage of a building, the support people give one another. His greatest hope is for peace.
People wishing to help are encouraged to donate to the Middle East Humanitarian Crisis Appeal.
Amr is a media officer with the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Like many of his colleagues, his family has been impacted by the ongoing conflict in Gaza. We first introduced Amr after his family fled the north of Gaza to Khan Younis. We connected with him after his family had to flee again, this time to Rafah, and then one year after the escalation of hostilities.
Since then, Amr and his immediate family were able to return to their family home, an apartment, in Gaza City. By some miracle the building was still standing, but there is extensive damage as well as vandalism. The family is sleeping under a roof they fear could collapse.
Humanitarian Aid Delayed at Gaza Border Crossings
The situation is growing worse for people in Gaza. Borders were closed in early March and remained that way for more than two months. As the situation evolves, very little aid has since been allowed into Gaza; aid, which is ready in trucks only kilometres away.Warehouses are nearly empty, there are no more food distributions, and very few of the remaining humanitarian-run bakeries providing bread are able to operate due to a lack of flour.
“With the ongoing struggle to access basic necessities like water and food, and with prices soaring, it’s becoming harder every day to meet even the most basic needs,” Amr said in a text message.
Photo: Amr Ali / Palestine Red Crescent Society
“Every day, I navigate through destruction and fear, working with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to document the society’s response, the relentless suffering of my people and provide help where I can.”
Daily Life for Volunteers and Staff Supporting Humanitarian Efforts in Gaza
He walks more than 10 kilometres a day, to the office and home and to try and buy essentials for his family. Like other staff and volunteers of PRCS, his day is a cycle of uncertainty and exhaustion. Every day they leave their homes not knowing if they will make it back to their families again.Photo: Amr Ali / Palestine Red Crescent Society
“When I am at work, I carry the unbearable weight of leaving my family behind in a city where death strikes without warning,” Amr said. He describes this ongoing fear that all Gazans are facing as soul crushing.
He has lost friends and family, including his brother-in-law and a brother.
People in Gaza want others to know about the real situation they are facing, Amr said.
“Gaza is a place where you can see a doctor who lost his family while saving others, families living in cemeteries, a boy who lost his entire family, a little girl asking for her mother who was killed,” he said.
Amr met a girl who writes her name on her hand, so if she dies, she can be identified, and her family informed.
Despite this unending heartbreak, Amr finds small moments of beauty, a bird singing from the wreckage of a building, the support people give one another. His greatest hope is for peace.
“I want to feel what it means to be safe, for my children to sit at a school desk again, for us to rebuild our shattered lives. But I also know that, after all we have endured, we need a chance to heal."
Related:
- Amr's Story: Balancing Family, Work, and Survival in Gaza
- Surviving Uncertainty: A Family in Gaza Flee Khan Younis
- Five Moves and One Year Later: An Update From Amr and his Family
People wishing to help are encouraged to donate to the Middle East Humanitarian Crisis Appeal.
