Meet Reem Zidiah
Recently, we were honoured to be introduced to a remarkable young woman, who has taken it upon herself to help others in dire need amidst the crisis in Gaza.
Originally from Gaza City, Reem now seeks refuge with her parents and 5 siblings in a camp in Deir al-Balah. At 23, Reem faces a struggle that nobody should endure.
A young, and intelligent woman who had dreams, and the world at her fingertips found her life transformed, like so many others, following the events of 7th October last year.
Coming from a good family, her parents spent their lives working tirelessly to provide a decent life, a safe home, and a good education for their 6 children.
A new home of hopes and dreams
Just before last October, Reem and her family moved into their brand-new home. Life was good, or as good as it could ever be in Gaza. However, it soon all changed. For the first 20 days of the onslaught by the occupying forces, Reem and her family stayed in their home, and gave refuge to other relatives and neighbours. However, this was short-lived. Their home no longer stands. Instead, in its place lies a heap of rubble, all their belongings lost to dust. Their hopes and dreams shattered.
They then secured a rental apartment which used up much of their remaining funds. Despite the bombs continuing to drop, renting anywhere in Gaza has become unaffordable since October. As the shelling’s around their apartment building continued, Reem and her family found themselves in a very scary situation, surrounded by gunfire. You can call it a miracle or the will of God, but thankfully they managed to escape that night, and survive to tell their stories.
Before that night, their rental apartment was the only building left standing in the whole neighbourhood.
The soldiers told us we were safe, but they’d still bomb us.
In Gaza, nowhere is safe.
There’s no life here
Reem and her family had moved 6 times before finding some solace in Deir al-Balah. For the past 2 months, a tent has been her family’s home.
Despite Reem losing her grandfather 3 months ago, she confesses that living with her family is the biggest blessing. So many in her camp have become widows or orphans.
She says, “Gaza is no place for the elderly”. However, in truth, Gaza, as it currently stands, is no place for anyone to live well.
Even if the war on Gaza ends today, Reem and her family feel that they can’t continue to live there. Her brother graduated last year, and her sister was at university studying media when the latest war on Gaza started. Reem herself is a graduate, but there’s no opportunity in Gaza for them now. Their home has gone, their education has gone.
“We want to live, but there’s no life here now,” Reem says.
The only way they’re coping is with hope, in the hope that they’ll survive this. However, it’s not ending, the occupying forces continue to destroy the land and its people.
All she can do now is focus on those around her, and try to help improve their quality of life.
Life’s a beach – but not as you know it
As picturesque as you might ordinarily think it would be to live on a beach, the reality in Gaza is very different, and shockingly so.
Unfortunately, not all refugee camps in Gaza are receiving aid, for varying reasons, but logistics is one. Reem’s camp is one of these, and the effect on its citizens is devastating.
As you’ll see in the video, most of the tents are very small and as many as 6 families are often crammed into such small spaces, where they’re expected to cook, eat, play, and sleep.
When we last spoke with Reem, more than 370 families were living in her camp, that’s nearly 2,000 people. Yet, despite this staggering number, there aren’t any food distributions, permanent water supplies, or toilet blocks on the site.
A van comes every 3 days and sells food, food that Reem describes as only fit for animal consumption. A water truck comes once a week, which is nowhere near the minimum water they need, even if there were 3 trucks in its place.
Instead, people resort to bathing, and washing their clothes in the ocean, a stretch of sea which has been heavily polluted for many years. Understandably, illnesses such as diarrhoea, is rife in the camp, especially among young children.
It’s witnessed that Israeli forces have also been dumping rubble and materials from the war-ravaged streets directly into the sea in Gazam, to clear the land. This only worsens the water pollution which Gazans are being exposed to.
Hygiene – A basic human right?
I wonder how many of us consider how blessed we are to have clean running water in our homes, soap to cleanse ourselves with, a door to screen us, as we go about our business in privacy. I wonder, should enjoying a nice warm bath after a tiring day be considered a luxury or a basic human right in 2024?
We may feel it’s a luxury, but surely, shouldn’t it be the latter?
Afterall, dignity is a fundamental human right. According to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was proclaimed by the United Nations in 1948 (following the holocaust), Article 1 states;
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
Unfortunately, reality tells us a very different story. When you deprive someone of access to basic hygiene and intimate privacy, you’re also depriving someone of their dignity.
The grim reality in Reem’s camp is quite literally eye-watering. The smell of human waste in the air can be difficult to stomach, especially in the soaring temperatures experienced this summer in Gaza.
With no portable toilets or toilet blocks on site, families have no choice but to dig holes in the ground to relieve themselves. Often 5 or more families are forced to share the same hole, with little to no privacy. Some of these ‘makeshift toilets’ are even positioned within the tents themselves, making the living conditions unbearable.
Reem and her family are fortunate enough to have their own ‘makeshift toilet’, but she sees so many families living in such devastating, and squalid conditions beyond their control.
No access to toilet paper, soap, or water has created a constant breeding ground for infections and disease. Women and girls are desperate for sanitary products as they have nothing to help keep them clean during their menses/periods. This leads to an increased risk of UTI’s and other infections, which are already prevalent throughout Gaza due to this epidemic.
We wouldn’t expect animals to live like this, and nobody deserves to live like this.
Struggling to survive
Despite her living in a tent, and suffering all the same, Reem continues to see her own situation as a blessing, compared to many others in the camp. Her perseverance, and concern for the welfare of her neighbours is a testament to her pure heart and nature.
Here at Forgotten Women, we’ve pledged to help Reem’s camp as much as we possibly can. To keep her fundraising campaign separate from our main Gaza campaign, we’ve created a LaunchGood community and fundraising page, specifically for Reem’s camp.
We’ll soon be looking for 100 kind souls to help us fundraise for the camp, but for now, we’re just asking for your kind donations.
However, if you’d like to be one of the 100 kind souls, then please do contact office@forgottenwomen.org and use the subject title ‘Reem’s 100 Heroes’
If you’re able to donate, then please click on the LaunchGood page below, and please give whatever you can afford. No amount is too small.
https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/fws_fundraiser_for_reem
While, the families in Reem’s camp need ‘everything’, people are desperately asking for hygiene supplies. Whatever money we raise on the page will go directly to buying essential supplies to the families in dire need. Our aim is to provide continuous hygiene, food, and water aid to Reems camp, but we can only do that by reaching as many people as possible, and keeping the donations coming in. Every single penny you donate will go to Gaza to buy supplies.
Please share this article, and the LaunchGood link far and wide with your contacts and social following. The more people Reem’s story can reach, the more families we can help in her camp.
Also, if you’d like to send a personal message to Reem or the families in her camp then please feel free to email us on the address above.
Together, we can make a real difference, and be a beacon of hope to those who so desperately need it.
Thank you for reading!
