Gaza has the highest level of food insecurity in the world, where a loaf of bread is the biggest dream!
For more than four months, all crossings into Gaza have been closed, opening the gates of famine to the strip. This was not just a passing event; it was a slow death sentence for more than two million four hundred thousand civilians, most of them women and children, and hunger became the dominant weapon, and the growling of empty bellies is today the official anthem of the tormented city of Gaza.
Gaza is a place where bread became the master of dreams!
“Every morning, my body wakes up with a new pain in my back, stomach, and head, and I am sure that these are the fingerprints of famine and hunger. When the intense waves of migraines engulf me with their terrible pain and paralyze me, the terrible truth of hunger becomes more apparent to me. I look around me in fear and see that everything is gradually disappearing, and I am condemned to face my pain and torment alone, without even a pill to protect myself from this monster that lives in my head (migraine).
Amid this famine, I am afraid to talk to my father. What can I say? How can I comfort him with words, while the cries of hunger of my little brothers, like whips falling on their emaciated bodies, still fill my ears as they struggle for life?
With the depth of my pain, I look around me and see more pain. How bitter it is to watch my two young children, whose innocence has turned into a fight over dry crumbs. I look at them, and the pain tears my soul apart, because I cannot give them the most basic rights of life. Yes, today Gaza is a place where all the dreams of the people have been destroyed, and today the master of dreams in Gaza is only one thing: a loaf of bread to satisfy hunger. This dream is the sad melody of Gaza. In the pediatric clinic, where everyone is waiting for a chance to keep their children alive, a woman told me in a weary tone, “I don’t remember the last time I felt full, and hunger always haunts me.” Her words echoed my own, a muffled cry that speaks to the reality of all the people of Gaza. Hunger has become a terrifying monster that haunts us both in our sleep and our waking hours.
Words fail to describe the suffering we are enduring. We find ourselves in a prison, unable to escape the deep pit of famine, and we are all drowning in it together. In famine and hunger, the standards of honor and heroism have also changed. We used to be proud and celebrate our children’s academic achievements, but today our children become heroes if they can find and bring a container of water or a meal.