#destitute
The UN have stated that Gaza will be ‘unlivable by 2020’ if the humanitarian crises impacting it are not addressed. However, for many families, Gaza is already unlivable and they are forced to drink unclean water, miss out on adequate healthcare and live in shockingly poor housing. There are still approximately 60,000 people homeless since the 2014 assault on the Gaza Strip, and not having a home is a truly horrendous experience. Our homes are our sanctuaries, and tied up with human dignity and development. A child with nowhere to study will struggle, an elderly or unwell person with nowhere to recover will suffer and a family with no home will fall apart.
We would like to share with you a family case which has been bought to our attention by our Gaza Field Office. It is the case of the Al Khatib family in Gaza.
The Al Khatib family were forced to leave their home. The family of nine now reside in a 20 square meter tent made from recycled tin plates. There is no water, sewage or electricity networks nor any furniture. The cold and rain continually leaks into the derelict house leaving the seven children constantly unwell. The children’s father is unable to work as he suffers from trauma and serious psychological problems following a severe head injury. That is why their mother, Sabreen, walked in to the Interpal Gaza Office recently with a desperate plea for help. She could no longer stand to watch her family in this state.
Interpal works to ensure that Palestinians are not forced to give up their dignity and rights due to poverty and disadvantage. Our Karamah Project provides grants to families to renovate damaged or inadequate housing, and we also support other shelter aid such as rent and alleviating debts due to housing.
A generous donor has already come forward and made a donation which will allow Sabreen and her family to rent a property for a year (2017). However, it is important to remember that the family’s problems are ongoing and they will need continued support from us.
Our aim is to fundraise a total of £8,500 this year in order to purchase a house for the family so that they are able to move in, in 2018.
If you are unable to donate, please do share this link with your contacts and try to raise some funds yourself.
Poor In America (1936)
A mother in a family of nine holds one of her children as another child stands beside her. She is wearing a feed sack as a skirt. The family was photographed by Carl Mydans, a New Deal photographer, in 1936. He saw them living in a field next to U.S. 70 in Tennessee, near the Tennessee River.
Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)
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