'How will we flee?': Israeli assaults leave Gaza's disabled more vulnerable and scared
5 min read
Muadh Berberawi, from in , lost his wheelchairduring the last assault onthe besieged enclave. He and his family moved into his uncle’s house in Jabalia, where he was forced to sitwithout moving on a mattress on the floor for over 20 days. Being stuck in the same sitting position for so long led to him suffering from more severepain than usual.However, whatupset him far more was the loss of his wheelchair.
When Muadh’s family hurried to fleetheir home during the last , his brother Baha carried him on his shoulders, leaving the wheelchair behind. Muadh also had to leave manyof his clothes andmedicines behind. Injured as a child during an Israeli attack in 2002, Muadh was left .
Gaza bombing: Disabled left further isolated in the aftermath
Muadh is used to going out in his wheelchair and wandering around hisneighbourhood,watching the world go byand chatting to otheryoung people. This helps himforget his daily worries for a while, like how to accesstreatment, and the intense painhe can sufferat night.
Now, however, Muadh cannotleave the house unless his brother helps him; sitting him down on a normal chair –which he can only sit on without moving –and taking him outside.
"Disabled people in Gaza experience multipleblockades: we struggle to access healthcareand are excluded fromsociety; there is a lack of medicines and also ofopportunities when it comes to work and others"
Muadh says to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, ’s Arabic-language sister publication:“Disabled people in Gaza experience multipleblockades: we struggle to access healthcareand are excluded fromsociety; there is a lack of medicines and also ofopportunities when it comes to work and others.
"As for losing the wheelchair, it means I feel like I am just a body with no way of moving from place to place. However, when I compare my experience to the tragedies of those who lost children or parents, my loss is small, and I am looking forward to the relief of receiving a new wheelchair.”
Muadh is not the only disabled young person who has suffered harm both physically and psychologically as a result of Israeli aggression. Many of those with disabilities need to keep moving as part of their physiotherapy, however, after the latest Israeli assault, they have had no choice but to remain confined in their homes, unable to alleviatethe shock and trauma. Thiswas undoubtedly moresevere among those who lost their wheelchairs as a result of their homes or streets being bombed.
Nobody asks about anyone else
While the Israeli bombing was intensifying, many disabled people were wondering how they would flee with their families to seek safety –how they would be able to move and travel to seek shelter at a time when no part of Gaza was safe.
Ifthey were able to evacuate with their families thenthey would be wondering if wherethey were headedwould be suitable for them, in terms of their disabilities.
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One of them was Muhammed Najjar (37) who lives in the Shati refugee camp in West Gaza. Muhammed was a child when he fell off a roofin the camp, and as a result, he suffers from partial paralysis in his right hand and foot and has mobility problems. He uses crutches in his daily life to leave the house and sit in the main street next to the camp's marketplace.
During the Israeli assault of 2014, he started suffering stiffness in the muscles of his left foot for which he needed intensive physiotherapy. He also suffered psychological trauma for which he underwentpsychotherapy.
After the recent bombardment, he needed further psychological treatment and physiotherapy, after his family lost their home in a bombingon 15 May. Several neighbouring houses were also destroyed,killing many members of the Abu Hatab and al-Hadidi families. Muhammed lost one of his crutches.
"The harm suffered by people with disabilities is manifoldbecause there are no emergency committees, for example, to consider their needs during the attacks. In any case, no one asks about anyone else during the bombing, and this leaves disabled people more vulnerable than any other group"
He says: “The harm suffered by people with disabilities is manifoldbecause there are no emergency committees, for example, to consider their needs during the attacks. In any case, no one asks about anyone else during the bombing, and this leaves disabled people more vulnerable than any other group in Gaza… after the bombing has stoppedthey will be thinking about how to get rid of the fear which has accumulated inside thembefore they can even start thinking about how to replace what they have lost.”
Disorientation and loss of perception
The nature of Samy al-Jamal’s (20) disability is different: he is blind. His father helps him travel to the college where he studies, and to go to other places and visit family. During the latest bombardment, there were more than 30 people crowded into his family home, after a house next to his uncle’s apartment was destroyed in the Rimal neighbourhood in central Gaza.The situation massively heightened Samy’s anxiety.
On May 18, his neighbours received a phone call telling them to evacuate the house as it was going to be bombed by the Israeli army. Samy didn't know what was happening, ashis father got him out quickly without saying anything to him about where they were going and if they were in danger or not. He waited with his family outside in the street for three hours until it became clear that the call had been a hoax.
Samy says: “I can sense everything that happens around me; the hustle and bustle of our street, passing cars and what is happening in the house. But during thatattack, I lost my inner vision and all sense of perception – I could only hear loud noises and screaming and I thought a bomb would hit near to us at any minute, but my family were reassuring me that it was happening far away.
"Those who can’t see don’t know where they are going unless someone is holdingtheir hand, or if they have a stick to lean on. I kept thinking aboutpeople who are in the same position as me.”
Sami sent voice messages to his visually impaired friends on Facebook and learnt from them that they faced the same situation when dealing with the difficulties of evacuating their homes or their homes being damaged.
All of them faced a devastatingreality - that they had no way of understanding how to deal with the threats and dangers they faced.
This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition. To read the original article click
