Finding
Abdel Sattar
It was almost 3pm. The narrow streets of Tamoun, a village in
Jenin, Gaza were strangely empty. I was on my way to meet Abdel
Sattar, a father of eight, to see if he was eligible for support
from Islamic Relief Palestine’s Family Sponsorship programme.
If eligible, the family would receive a regular donation to help
them meet their basic needs.
The
20-minute journey took hours because of the checkpoints and roadblocks
that are part of daily life in Palestine. In the neighbourhood
I asked where I could find Abdel Sattar and I was led to two clay-brick
rooms covering less than 40 square metres in total. The walls
and ceilings were constructed from a range of different materials
including plastic and corrugated tin sheets and asbestos.
For
a moment I stood in disbelief, trying to comprehend how such a
ramshackle place could be home to a family. My thoughts were interrupted
by an abrupt, “What do you want?" The questioner was
a six year-old girl standing barefoot, wearing a dirty wool blouse
and patched pants of an unidentifiable colour. I asked who she
was and she replied, "This is my house."
Ramshackle
Home
"Welcome! Come in!" I heard a thin dark-skinned man
say. He was Abdel Sattar. I shook his cold hand and stepped into
his house, wondering how two adults and eight children managed
to eat, drink and sleep in such a confined, unstable place.
The
house had no power supply and was poorly furnished with little
more than a few sponge mattresses. Throughout our meeting the
wind whistled through the many holes in the walls. The ceiling
shook and the room echoed with the sound of stones hitting the
corrugated tin. I felt that at any moment the strong wind would
tear off the ceiling, leaving the family shelter-less.
Unemployment
As I sat down on the floor with the eligibility questionnaire
eight skinny barefoot children surrounded me, looking malnourished
and possibly anaemic. It was obvious that the family needed help.
Four
years ago Abdel Sattar used to work in Israel, and started to
build a small house. The deteriorating security situation left
him unemployed and so his house remained unfinished. Abdel Sattar’s
family was forced to move into the half-built house even though
it lacked the basics, such as a safe roof.
Stress
of Poverty
Abdel Sattar’s wife looked weak and pale, as if deeply exhausted
by worry. She was reluctant to speak to me. "Do you really
want to help us?” she asked me. “If you help us today,
who will help us tomorrow? Don't bother yourself brother! Leave
us to the mercy of Allah; I swear to Allah we accept our destiny."
I
told her that maybe it was the will of God that I was there trying
to help them. Her eyes filled with tears. "Despair and frustration
have become our lifestyle,” she said, “Do you know
that for ten days we've been eating only bread and tea? I wake
up every morning, light the fire and wonder what I’m going
to cook. Every day it’s the same answer - bread and tea."
She then broke down and cried.
Dry
Bread & Tea
"Last Ramadan my husband was part of a Work for Food programme
so he got a bag of flour, some rice and sugar as a retainer. To
save food, I urged my little children to fast in Ramadan even
though they weren't old enough. I used to wake up to prepare the
morning meal, and searched the whole house to find only dry pieces
of bread. I would dip them in water and offer it to my children
with tea. I would then go to wake my husband up but every morning
he would always say, 'I think I'll be able to fast without the
meal. Just be sure to wake me for the dawn prayer.’"
Abdel
Sattar’s wife told me that people in their neighbourhood
used to be very helpful in Ramadan, sharing what little food they
had with others. Now, she said, most people are so poor that they
don’t have anything to share.
It
was 4pm by the time I’d filled out the questionnaire and
started to head back. As I left the house with the children all
around me, I wondered how long they could survive on bread and
tea. Where could they turn for help when they are surrounded by
hundreds of families, all in the same situation?
Nur
El Khaldi
Family Sponsorship Coordinator, Jenin
Note:
Since March 2004 the family has been benefiting from Islamic Relief’s
Family Sponsorship programme. They now receive US$150 worth of
help each month, including regular food packets, water and electricity
bill payments, medical expenses, and uniforms and school materials
for the children. Currently,
600 families from across Gaza and the West Bank are being sponsored
under this programme.