Mother’s Day overshadowed by tragedy as mothers in Gaza struggle amid war, fear
Like other mothers, Palestinian women are celebrating Mother’s Day this year but amid war and displacement in makeshift tents, facing harsh conditions that don’t allow for traditional celebrations with gifts and flowers from their children.
Inside a tent in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, women have taken refuge with their families, sitting together without concerns and fears on Mother’s Day, which falls on March 21 each year.
THIS YEAR, MOTHER’S DAY IS DIFFERENT
Palestinian women are preoccupied with preparing iftar meals during the holy month of Ramadan amid dire humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
While preparing the iftar meal in her tent, Palestinian mother Um Adel Zahar, 77, told Anadolu: “Every year, my children used to give me a dress and flowers on Mother’s Day, and I was happy. But today, there is no such event.”
“Instead, we want to return to our homes. We want to sit amid the rubble and sand of our homes, and for the war to end,” she wished.
Um Adel continued: “This place is not my real home; rather, I wish to return to our lands in the village of Hamam (one of the Palestinian villages in the city of Ashkelon in 1948).”
Living in difficult humanitarian conditions, Um Adel suffers from various diseases, including cancer. The food she consumes under the strict Israeli blockade does not suit her health condition.
Um Mohammad Sabiha, 55, told Anadolu: “I am a mother saddened by the difficult situation we live in due to the Israeli war on the enclave.”
“I remember Mother’s Day we celebrated in our house, leaving beautiful memories,” she recalled.
Um Mohammad pointed out that her children used to bring her gifts on this occasion, but “today is a sad day.”
Carrying sweet memories, the Palestinian woman wished to go back to her home in Khan Younis from where she was displaced.
MOTHER’S DAY AMID FEAR, WAR
Palestinian Anam Abu Wadi, 61, is busy washing clothes, and the horrors of war have made her forget that today is Mother’s Day.
Anam tells Anadolu: “Our children used to bring gifts, but today, we spend this occasion in the tents.”
No one remembers that it’s Mother’s Day because everyone is preoccupied with fear and war, she added.
“The Palestinian mother deserves everything beautiful; she is a patient mother who endures with us and suffers with us,” Anam explained.
YEARNING FOR DAUGHTERS’ HUGS
Ghada Al Kurd, 36, told Anadolu: “I have two daughters far away from me; they are in the north of the enclave, and I am in the south. Communicating with them is difficult due to the war.”
“March brings Mother’s Day, but unfortunately, my daughters are not with me. I wished I was with them today; we would spend a beautiful day together and exchange gifts,” she added.
The Palestinian mother deeply misses her daughters, wishing they were by her side, to embrace them and provide them with food, especially amid looming famine in the northern part of the enclave.