Thursday 11/1/2024

Come, let’s try an interesting experiment together. I haven’t told you that I haven’t healed from the flu over the past three weeks, despite receiving treatment twice in a row. I also will not tell you that the food inside Gaza is the primary reason for my illness. The majority of the aid that we receive doesn't really help people in healing from anything; everyone knows canned food.

But now, I will share something more real, and we can leave what I just said as a secret between us. My friend, imagine this scene with me and then apply what I’m going to tell you: a young man or woman gets influenza, like so many here at the hospital, and they suffer from symptoms of fever, dizziness, bone pains, and diarrhea. They want to go to the bathroom. Now they are standing in front of the bathroom door, and before them, there are no less than five other people standing also wanting to enter the bathroom. Perhaps they are suffering from the same symptoms. Maybe among them there is someone wounded, an old man, a child, or an old woman with incontinence. This is what happened in front of me, no one had to tell me about it. Now they are faced with two options: to scream that they cannot bear the pain and diarrhea and need to enter before everyone else, or to remain silent and wait between five to ten minutes for each person. If it was a child, they likely soiled themselves.   

Now my dear, escape the boundaries that befall Gaza, I want you to close the door of your room on yourself when you want to enter the bathroom. Time a half hour on your watch before leaving to enter the bathroom. Imagine yourself unable to enter the bathroom due to the scene I just described.

It is a fact that there are three schools around the hospital, and all three have no less than 25 bathrooms. Each school has no less than 15,000 displaced people. The hospital has no less than 22,000 displaced people.

I know the effects of food on the vitality of people, and they know it as well, which is why they use it to attack us. I know the effects of forged truths and rumors between the people, and because of this, people evacuate the hospital to Rafah, which no longer has space for the displaced. 

Solidarity is not enough. Silence is treacherous and words are not enough.