December 27.2008 Israel ececuted extensive military actions in Gaza, one of the worlds most populated areas. It lasted for 22 days.
More than 20.000 buildings, homes, factories and farms were completely or partly destroyed.
1387 were killed, 773 unarmed, mostly women and children.
257 under 16 years old.
5500 were wounded. More than 700 women and 1800 children require long term treatment.
This is the story of Yahya, Rasmima and Amira. June 2009 they made the following statemenst :
If I study well, I want to become a lawyer, -
- so that I can take the Israelis to court.
I dream of becoming a doctor.
So that I can treat and help those who are injured by the Israelis.
Life is really hard. Really.
Tears of Gaza
My father would take us to the beach, he would build a tent and we would -
- eat watermelons and honey-melons, and all sorts of things.
We would swim and he would caryy us on his back and swim.
We had lots of fun when we were to the beach with him.
Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Master of the Day of the Judgement.
Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek.
Show us the straight way.
The path of those whom Thou hast favoured
- not the path of those who earn Thine anger. Aamiin.
When my father was murdered, it felt as if I lost the whole world.
We pray to be those who call to the almighty God, -
- those who enjoy the love of God.
Those calling for me are those I love...
If you cannot make up for your sins, then I am your doctor.
We will pledge them he clean their sins and guilt...
Bombed mosque
Therefore, what is the value of fasting?
Fasting should help us to become better human beings, -
- to serve our religions and all the people around us...
Yahya and his brother
Bachelor party
Wedding day
The happiness is not complete, -
- my father is not by my side, neither are my uncles, no one from my family.
Only my grandfaher and one uncle are left, the others are gone, -
- how can you expect me to be happy? It's just not complete.
Iam in debt. And getting married cost me 6.000 JD's
I don't know how I am going to pay back the debt, -
- there is no one to help me with it, maybe I'll stay in debt all my life.
Maybe I will be able to pay it back in a year if I get work.
Everything we receive comes through the tunnels.
The people of Gaza would die without them.
We don't have are furniture or mattresses to sleep on.
Everyhing comes through the tunnels and prices are extremely high.
What does life mean for the children without Palestine...
Even it they give us all the world, we will not forget...
July 09
Why are they shooting at you when you are fishing ?
Of course they are known of their crimes and the zionism, -
- and the destruction as you saw in the last war against Gaza.
Siege on the sea and siege on the land.
They are allowing the fishermen to go 3 miles from shore.
If I pull this way, it will go the other way ?
- Yes. - Ok.
Rasmia, Gaza market, Aug 09.
Well, there are a lof of things missing from the market, -
- because the borders are closed and everything.
It is very difficult for goods to come in through the tunnels, it's difficult.
I want to buy something for my daughter but I can't afford it.
Des 08 / Jan 09
YAA ALLAH..... !
Ambulance..!
The house is burning, we need help to put out the fire.
They bombed the whole neighbourhood, we just ran away.
Pull, pull, pull...
Go, go , go !
Go up !
Hurry !
Hurry, hurry, hurry... !
Look how it became! The Almadhoon family!
Young,... oh my God, they are young !
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar
Allahu Akbar...
Yahmya's family house. May 09
Oh my God. They killed the children, they killed officers and women became widows.
God made the mothers feel lost, -
as they crushed our hearts.
We come from God, and we are returning to him.
May God punish them !
When the war started, they began bombing.
There were bombing night and day. We couldn't sleep.
As soon as we shut our eyes we were awoken by bombing.
We woke up in panic, then we calmed down our children.
What could we do? May God punish them.They terrorized the children
We spent one night and one day stuck in the house
The children were so frightened they couldn’t eat. They screamed in fear.
We couldn’t take them to the toilette everybody was laying on the floor.
The shooting was all over our heads. We found refuge in the inner rooms.
We stayed stuck at home for three days, no compassion , no mercy.
No one came to our aid. We started screaming.
“We are only women and children in the house. No men. Please let us out”
But they refused to let us out.
They pushed sand on the front door, so we couldn’t leave the house.
They started shooting our house. Thank God, we not meant to die.
The bullets came inside the house and they ripped the place apart.
We ran from house to house on the way to the UN school.
We left our homes and we didn’t what happened there.
My sons decided to go back to our homes to defend them.
Some of my sons were killed and others were injured.
But we did not know this until later.
Our men rescued us. They made a hole in the back wall so we could get out.
We were running in the street, some of the children were barefoot.
And they collapsed from fear.
People who tried to escape during the night were shot banyak the Israelis.
Their bodies remained in the street.
The children ran to me and held on to me as they were screaming.
I couldn't comfort them. I was scared too.
Imagine when your children need your ptotection. I started screaming too.
So many dead people lied in the street. We had to step over them.
We told the children to close their eyes when we got close to dead people.
Near the roundabout corpses were torn to pieces.
The bombing and shooting was all over us.
We were shoched to see our neighbourhood covered in black smoke.
Alhamdulillah, we carried out the children with no injures.
We said goodbye to our men and went to seek refuge antara the UN school.
This is what is left of my home.
They did not allow us too see our dead “martyrs”.
I wish I could say a proper goodbye to my husband, but they wouldn’t let me.
I said goodbye but he was already in a bag.
My son threw himself on his father.
And they had to pull him away.
Water…
Water, Mohammad, get him a glass of water.
I am not seeing my father anymore.
He used to give me money before I went to school in the morning.
He is not here to say “how are you?”. There’s no more “how are you?”.
I come and go but he is not here to ask :Where are you going?
I wish thad God will punish the Israelis -
- and Egypt and all those countries who supported the Israelis.
Do you have any memories of your father?
Yes. I remember when he took me to the port and to the beach, -
- and when he bought different things to us.
Beitlahia, Family burial place.
UN camp.
A missile hit my parents’ bedroom.
I started screaming, everbody was screaming.
I went downstairs and found my brother laying at the bottom of the stairs.
He was screaming and yelling : I am injured.
I climbed up. I didn’t see my father, my mother or anybody.
We were screaming. We had become separated.
There was no electricity. At night they started bombing again.
I started screaming and I took my brother’s hand and led him out.
Outside I saw dead bodies cut in pieces.
I was screaming and pleading for God to forgive me.
Because I was stepping on dead, innocent people.
I am just a little girl. Eleven years old.
All I knows is that I fell down the stairs.
I was falling down the stairs with my brother.
We tumbled down three or four steps. I felt horrible.
No one was concerned about us.
The bombs were falling all around, then the house came down over us.
There was nobody left in the neighbourhood, everyone had fled.
When I went back to our home, I found that all my school books were burned.
Who else will look after me?!
My brother is in the hospital, does anybody care about him?!
Nobody is paying for his treatment. We cannot pay for the medicine.
Medicine will cost a hundred shekels. We cannot even pay half a shekel.
This way it will only burn more.
Abu Halima family.
We were sitting at home after the land invasion on Saturday night.
‘They started launching missile around our home.
Of course, the children were screaming and crying in panic.
We didn’t know what we could do for them
We were not able to escape because of the bombs falling around us.
Late afternoon Sunday the army targeted our home while were in it.
We were just sitting at home we weren't fighters. Nothing like it.
They killed the children, all of them under 12 years of age.
They killed five people. One of them was my father, that makes it six.
They bombed us with phosphorus bombs, the kind that burns.
I was about seven meters away from the missile
I had my little daughter with me, she was about eight months old
I put her aside and walked into the room just as the second missile hit
I tried to enter but I couldn't, there was black smoke so I couldn't-
-because of the fire and the smoke caused by the phosphorus bombs.
We removed the dead and I removed my wife -
-and my daughter Farah.
but there were no ambulances or paramedics there to help us.
They burned her in front of my eyes, burned her with the phosphorus.
And Zaid, and Hamzah and Abdurraheem, and my father.
What did they do to deserve this? These children?
He who lauched the missiles, does he have no religion?
He aimed his missiles at us, knowing where we were in the house.
He hit that exactly in the middle of the room, where we were.
It means the it was planned and premeditated.
I don't know, I don't knows. God grant me the patience.
There is no forgiveness, where can I get forgiveness from?
Forgive those who kill little children?
Are these children fight to be killed ? HASBUNALLAHU WANI'MAL WAKIIL.
The most important thing is that she is happy. That's how I want her happy.
She is my pampered girl, and I love her very much.
January 2009
Why are you running away, leaving your house ?
Because of shooting.
- Are you afraid ? - Yes.
- They bombed the building. - How ?
With shooting.
UN scholl, January 2009
YAA ALLAH...!
I wanted to get the clothes for my mother.
Come, come out... What are you doing here ?!
Take this ! You will be ok.
Kahmal Hospital, Dec 08 / Jan 09
I am fine... I'm not that bad.
Take his clothes off. He has a fractur. Get me a splint.
Take his clothes off. He has a fracture.
Get me a gauze quickly !
Don't be afraid.
Lock at me, see.
Mum... mum...
Here is mum. I will get your mum...
Here is mum... Enough, my soul, here is mum.
I will get her now.
Lay him on the side.
Clean him.
I want to see him... oh mum.
They are inhuman !
My beloved, my beloved. All of my kids died, all off my kids died.
Rasmia
We came to the UNRWA school for protection, but they bombed us there.
We spent the night there, suddenly we got to know -
- that my uncle was murdered.
At night my grandmother asked him to bring water.
He went with my two counsins, they got killed.
Life is really hard. Really.
She memorising... memorising.
When she saw the bodies scattered in the streets, -
- she started imagining things.
It is very difficult.
We found our home destroyed and there is nothing left.
The whole house was destroyed.
Now our food has sand in it, and the water is not drinkable, -
- so we are thirsty all the time.
The floor is our bed now, we sleep on a black blanket.
It's not a bed or anything. It's just a black blanket.
There's no water ini the bathroom, not even to wash up for prayer.
There water is cut all the time. We don't have any water.
When it comes through the pipes the pressure is weak.
It comes through for just a short time, then it stops. There not enough.
I pray that God will help me succed and compensate us for our losses.
And that everything we lost will come back.
So that we can get our home back.
January 2009
Careful.. careful..
Amira, Al-Shifa Hospital, january 2009
First we were sleeping.
Oh God.
Then we heard a huge strong sound. It was a bomb.
Me and my brothers went outside. We couldn't find my father.
He was laying on the ground, full of blood.
My brothers went to get the ambulance, I stayed beside my father.
They bombed again and I was injured.
- Has you father died ? - I don't know.
What about your brothers ?
They went to call for an ambulance. I haven't seen them since
Put her here.
God gives you mercy, lssa.
Show them where these children were hit.
I will show you. There is no editing here.
This is a short distance shooting.
It's execution. Short distance shooting.
Children being killed deliberately and intentionally.
Subhaanallah...
Jabalia Camp Funeral, January 2009
ALLAHU AKBAR WALILLAHIL-HAMD...!
May God punish israel.
My beloved son.. my beloved son.. my beloved Ibrahim.
My beloved son.
I came here, my son to visit you and your brother.
Just sit down. I'll get you what you want.
My God.
Amira.
Yahya, September 2009
Rasmia.
Amira.
When my father was murdered, I felt like I lost the whole world.
All of my brothers and sisters, all of my relatives were lost.
It feels like you were left alone on this life.
When we lost our father, we lost hope. We lost everything in our lives.
When I lost my father...
... I cried every night.
I used to cry every time. I remembered him.
Especially at night when I rememberde him, I cried.
I used to wake up and cry wishing that my father would come back.
I dream of becoming a doctor.
So that I can treat and help those who are injured by the israelis.
So that I can treat and give medicine and perform surgery -
- on those who need it.
Like those who were shot or injured by a bomb shell, I want to help them.
Amira's new family.
Thank God that she came back home safely.
I am saying to the world, it's not fair what the israelis are doing to us.
My son is also murdered.
It is not fair.. Enough, enough.
June 2009
First we were sitting at home and we were chatting.
Then someone came knocking on the door.
My father went to see who it was.
Just then we heard the sound of an explosion.
We went to the door and we didn't see my father.
There was a lot of smoke at the entrance of the house.
We didn't see anything.
So we walked out into the street, shouting for him.
We didn't find him, then we went back to the entrance of the house.
The smoke cleared up and we saw my father near the door.
He was dead, there was blood coming out of his head here.
We were screaming and crying.
We started to shake him, for him to wake up.
But he didn't want to wake up.
My brothers stayed with my father. I went out in the street to find help.
Suddenly I heard the sound of an explosion and I fell to the ground.
I tried standing up a few times but my leg kept bending.
When my brothers and sisters saw me they started screaming.
They went to get an ambulance, but they never came back.
I stayed beside my father trying to wake him up for about 15 minutes.
Then I lost hope and went back into the house.
I went to the balcony, it was broken glass all over the floor -
- because of the rockets.
I lost consiousness and woke up again many times.
Because I was bleeding. I could't resist fainting.
When I woke up the next morning, I was not aware of my leg injury.
First I saw that the balcony was full of blood.
Then I locked at my leg and saw that the tissue and the bone was exposed.
From here it looked like chopped liver.
I stood on my uninjured leg and I was able to drink water. But I threw it up.
Then the israelis fired another rocket at where I was.
They didn't hit me. I thing it was because I was still moving.
They also fired another rocket at my father, he was torn to pieces.
That was the last time I ever saw my father.
A plane was projecting its light on me for about two minutes or so.
I stopped moving and then I when into a coma.
I started having hallucinations that my father was telling me :
"Wait, I am coming for you !"
But when I woke up...
... I just kept on crying.
Whenever I wake up, I ask myself why I wake up ?
I remember my brothers.
They went to get an ambulance for me and my father.
The israelis saw them running and shot them down.
I wish...
... that I had gone with them.
If I study well I want to become a lawyer, to defend my home and -
Because they are killing children and they stole all our land.