1. Palestine
  2. 2019

Gaza children - protest march

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Nour, 11, struggles with frequent nightmares ever since the death of her grandmother and older brother Mahmoud.<br />
<br />
"My grandmother, may God rest her soul, died on 5 May 2018. They asked me to see her for the last time to say goodbye to her because she loved me very much.  She loved us all.<br />
The next day, I got sick. My head and my tummy were hurting badly. My parents took me to the hospital. On that day, Monday, the doctors said that I should be taken to a hospital in Israel, and my brother was wounded that same day.<br />
I slept at the hospital for six days, and I started walking a little bit after the first medical treatment. After that I went back home.<br />
The next day, while my mother was praying and asking God for mercy for Mahmoud, my other grandmother called her screaming.<br />
My mum said: “What's going on?”<br />
My grandmother said: “Come downstairs. Mahmoud has died, may God have mercy on him.”<br />
We all started crying, we were all shaken up. None of us slept that day. <br />
He used to take us up to the roof and play with us, me and my sisters. He used to work so that he could buy us clothes and other things we needed.<br />
We are two sisters: My name is Nour and her name is Asma'. And I have two brothers. They were three brothers, but now they have become two.<br />
Mahmoud was killed, God have mercy on him. I still have Muhammad and Muhannad and my parents. My brother, Muhammad, went to the Great March of Return and while he was throwing stones, he was wounded.<br />
In my dreams, I was seeing Israelis [soldiers]. They kicked us out of our house because of my brother and because my grandmother passed away.<br />
When my grandmother died, she took with her the blessing on this house. They wore black clothes and had their faces covered. They beat us and kicked us out and they aimed guns at our heads.<br />
I had nightmares every day. I was scared the whole night and I would go to my mum and sleep next to her.<br />
After I had a few sessions with Ms Kefah, I stopped having nightmares.<br />
During the war and the bombardments, we fled to my uncle’s house in Al-Nasser neighbourhood. Our house was bombed and we lost all the windows. Our grandfather's house was also bombed.<br />
I was scared when my brother was killed and I started having nightmares. <br />
My mum is sick and I'm scared something will happen to her. I love her so much. <br />
I hope that our house becomes beautiful again and that we live together again in one house and that my mother gets better and that God will help her to recover.<br />
When I joined Ms Kefah in ‘the Better Learning Programme’, she taught us rope games, how to deal with bad thoughts, deep breathing, and doing the ship exercise. I started feeling better and the nightmares stopped.<br />
Before I go to sleep, I do some exercises.<br />
When I had nightmares, I would feel afraid and my heart would beat fast and I would shake. I wake up and dress to go to school<br />
and play with my friends. When I come back home, I study and prepare for exams.  My mother helps me with my school subjects. I play for a while with my cousins. <br />
I wish Mahmoud, my brother, would come back to us again and my grandmother and we would reunite and live as one family again.<br />
My nightmares started after the deaths of my grandmother and my brother."<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
1 / 35

Nour, 11, struggles with frequent nightmares ever since the death of her grandmother and older brother Mahmoud.

"My grandmother, may God rest her soul, died on 5 May 2018. They asked me to see her for the last time to say goodbye to her because she loved me very much. She loved us all.
The next day, I got sick. My head and my tummy were hurting badly. My parents took me to the hospital. On that day, Monday, the doctors said that I should be taken to a hospital in Israel, and my brother was wounded that same day.
I slept at the hospital for six days, and I started walking a little bit after the first medical treatment. After that I went back home.
The next day, while my mother was praying and asking God for mercy for Mahmoud, my other grandmother called her screaming.
My mum said: “What's going on?”
My grandmother said: “Come downstairs. Mahmoud has died, may God have mercy on him.”
We all started crying, we were all shaken up. None of us slept that day.
He used to take us up to the roof and play with us, me and my sisters. He used to work so that he could buy us clothes and other things we needed.
We are two sisters: My name is Nour and her name is Asma'. And I have two brothers. They were three brothers, but now they have become two.
Mahmoud was killed, God have mercy on him. I still have Muhammad and Muhannad and my parents. My brother, Muhammad, went to the Great March of Return and while he was throwing stones, he was wounded.
In my dreams, I was seeing Israelis [soldiers]. They kicked us out of our house because of my brother and because my grandmother passed away.
When my grandmother died, she took with her the blessing on this house. They wore black clothes and had their faces covered. They beat us and kicked us out and they aimed guns at our heads.
I had nightmares every day. I was scared the whole night and I would go to my mum and sleep next to her.
After I had a few sessions with Ms Kefah, I stopped having nightmares.
During the war and the bombardments, we fled to my uncle’s house in Al-Nasser neighbourhood. Our house was bombed and we lost all the windows. Our grandfather's house was also bombed.
I was scared when my brother was killed and I started having nightmares.
My mum is sick and I'm scared something will happen to her. I love her so much.
I hope that our house becomes beautiful again and that we live together again in one house and that my mother gets better and that God will help her to recover.
When I joined Ms Kefah in ‘the Better Learning Programme’, she taught us rope games, how to deal with bad thoughts, deep breathing, and doing the ship exercise. I started feeling better and the nightmares stopped.
Before I go to sleep, I do some exercises.
When I had nightmares, I would feel afraid and my heart would beat fast and I would shake. I wake up and dress to go to school
and play with my friends. When I come back home, I study and prepare for exams. My mother helps me with my school subjects. I play for a while with my cousins.
I wish Mahmoud, my brother, would come back to us again and my grandmother and we would reunite and live as one family again.
My nightmares started after the deaths of my grandmother and my brother."

Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC

  • Nour, 11, struggles with frequent nightmares ever since the death of her grandmother and older brother Mahmoud.<br />
<br />
"My grandmother, may God rest her soul, died on 5 May 2018. They asked me to see her for the last time to say goodbye to her because she loved me very much.  She loved us all.<br />
The next day, I got sick. My head and my tummy were hurting badly. My parents took me to the hospital. On that day, Monday, the doctors said that I should be taken to a hospital in Israel, and my brother was wounded that same day.<br />
I slept at the hospital for six days, and I started walking a little bit after the first medical treatment. After that I went back home.<br />
The next day, while my mother was praying and asking God for mercy for Mahmoud, my other grandmother called her screaming.<br />
My mum said: “What's going on?”<br />
My grandmother said: “Come downstairs. Mahmoud has died, may God have mercy on him.”<br />
We all started crying, we were all shaken up. None of us slept that day. <br />
He used to take us up to the roof and play with us, me and my sisters. He used to work so that he could buy us clothes and other things we needed.<br />
We are two sisters: My name is Nour and her name is Asma'. And I have two brothers. They were three brothers, but now they have become two.<br />
Mahmoud was killed, God have mercy on him. I still have Muhammad and Muhannad and my parents. My brother, Muhammad, went to the Great March of Return and while he was throwing stones, he was wounded.<br />
In my dreams, I was seeing Israelis [soldiers]. They kicked us out of our house because of my brother and because my grandmother passed away.<br />
When my grandmother died, she took with her the blessing on this house. They wore black clothes and had their faces covered. They beat us and kicked us out and they aimed guns at our heads.<br />
I had nightmares every day. I was scared the whole night and I would go to my mum and sleep next to her.<br />
After I had a few sessions with Ms Kefah, I stopped having nightmares.<br />
During the war and the bombardments, we fled to my uncle’s house in Al-Nasser neighbourhood. Our house was bombed and we lost all the windows. Our grandfather's house was also bombed.<br />
I was scared when my brother was killed and I started having nightmares. <br />
My mum is sick and I'm scared something will happen to her. I love her so much. <br />
I hope that our house becomes beautiful again and that we live together again in one house and that my mother gets better and that God will help her to recover.<br />
When I joined Ms Kefah in ‘the Better Learning Programme’, she taught us rope games, how to deal with bad thoughts, deep breathing, and doing the ship exercise. I started feeling better and the nightmares stopped.<br />
Before I go to sleep, I do some exercises.<br />
When I had nightmares, I would feel afraid and my heart would beat fast and I would shake. I wake up and dress to go to school<br />
and play with my friends. When I come back home, I study and prepare for exams.  My mother helps me with my school subjects. I play for a while with my cousins. <br />
I wish Mahmoud, my brother, would come back to us again and my grandmother and we would reunite and live as one family again.<br />
My nightmares started after the deaths of my grandmother and my brother."<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
  • Nour, 11, struggles with frequent nightmares ever since the death of her grandmother and older brother Mahmoud.<br />
<br />
"My grandmother, may God rest her soul, died on 5 May 2018. They asked me to see her for the last time to say goodbye to her because she loved me very much.  She loved us all.<br />
The next day, I got sick. My head and my tummy were hurting badly. My parents took me to the hospital. On that day, Monday, the doctors said that I should be taken to a hospital in Israel, and my brother was wounded that same day.<br />
I slept at the hospital for six days, and I started walking a little bit after the first medical treatment. After that I went back home.<br />
The next day, while my mother was praying and asking God for mercy for Mahmoud, my other grandmother called her screaming.<br />
My mum said: “What's going on?”<br />
My grandmother said: “Come downstairs. Mahmoud has died, may God have mercy on him.”<br />
We all started crying, we were all shaken up. None of us slept that day. <br />
He used to take us up to the roof and play with us, me and my sisters. He used to work so that he could buy us clothes and other things we needed.<br />
We are two sisters: My name is Nour and her name is Asma'. And I have two brothers. They were three brothers, but now they have become two.<br />
Mahmoud was killed, God have mercy on him. I still have Muhammad and Muhannad and my parents. My brother, Muhammad, went to the Great March of Return and while he was throwing stones, he was wounded.<br />
In my dreams, I was seeing Israelis [soldiers]. They kicked us out of our house because of my brother and because my grandmother passed away.<br />
When my grandmother died, she took with her the blessing on this house. They wore black clothes and had their faces covered. They beat us and kicked us out and they aimed guns at our heads.<br />
I had nightmares every day. I was scared the whole night and I would go to my mum and sleep next to her.<br />
After I had a few sessions with Ms Kefah, I stopped having nightmares.<br />
During the war and the bombardments, we fled to my uncle’s house in Al-Nasser neighbourhood. Our house was bombed and we lost all the windows. Our grandfather's house was also bombed.<br />
I was scared when my brother was killed and I started having nightmares. <br />
My mum is sick and I'm scared something will happen to her. I love her so much. <br />
I hope that our house becomes beautiful again and that we live together again in one house and that my mother gets better and that God will help her to recover.<br />
When I joined Ms Kefah in ‘the Better Learning Programme’, she taught us rope games, how to deal with bad thoughts, deep breathing, and doing the ship exercise. I started feeling better and the nightmares stopped.<br />
Before I go to sleep, I do some exercises.<br />
When I had nightmares, I would feel afraid and my heart would beat fast and I would shake. I wake up and dress to go to school<br />
and play with my friends. When I come back home, I study and prepare for exams.  My mother helps me with my school subjects. I play for a while with my cousins. <br />
I wish Mahmoud, my brother, would come back to us again and my grandmother and we would reunite and live as one family again.<br />
My nightmares started after the deaths of my grandmother and my brother."<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
  • Nour, 11, struggles with frequent nightmares ever since the death of her grandmother and older brother Mahmoud.<br />
<br />
"My grandmother, may God rest her soul, died on 5 May 2018. They asked me to see her for the last time to say goodbye to her because she loved me very much.  She loved us all.<br />
The next day, I got sick. My head and my tummy were hurting badly. My parents took me to the hospital. On that day, Monday, the doctors said that I should be taken to a hospital in Israel, and my brother was wounded that same day.<br />
I slept at the hospital for six days, and I started walking a little bit after the first medical treatment. After that I went back home.<br />
The next day, while my mother was praying and asking God for mercy for Mahmoud, my other grandmother called her screaming.<br />
My mum said: “What's going on?”<br />
My grandmother said: “Come downstairs. Mahmoud has died, may God have mercy on him.”<br />
We all started crying, we were all shaken up. None of us slept that day. <br />
He used to take us up to the roof and play with us, me and my sisters. He used to work so that he could buy us clothes and other things we needed.<br />
We are two sisters: My name is Nour and her name is Asma'. And I have two brothers. They were three brothers, but now they have become two.<br />
Mahmoud was killed, God have mercy on him. I still have Muhammad and Muhannad and my parents. My brother, Muhammad, went to the Great March of Return and while he was throwing stones, he was wounded.<br />
In my dreams, I was seeing Israelis [soldiers]. They kicked us out of our house because of my brother and because my grandmother passed away.<br />
When my grandmother died, she took with her the blessing on this house. They wore black clothes and had their faces covered. They beat us and kicked us out and they aimed guns at our heads.<br />
I had nightmares every day. I was scared the whole night and I would go to my mum and sleep next to her.<br />
After I had a few sessions with Ms Kefah, I stopped having nightmares.<br />
During the war and the bombardments, we fled to my uncle’s house in Al-Nasser neighbourhood. Our house was bombed and we lost all the windows. Our grandfather's house was also bombed.<br />
I was scared when my brother was killed and I started having nightmares. <br />
My mum is sick and I'm scared something will happen to her. I love her so much. <br />
I hope that our house becomes beautiful again and that we live together again in one house and that my mother gets better and that God will help her to recover.<br />
When I joined Ms Kefah in ‘the Better Learning Programme’, she taught us rope games, how to deal with bad thoughts, deep breathing, and doing the ship exercise. I started feeling better and the nightmares stopped.<br />
Before I go to sleep, I do some exercises.<br />
When I had nightmares, I would feel afraid and my heart would beat fast and I would shake. I wake up and dress to go to school<br />
and play with my friends. When I come back home, I study and prepare for exams.  My mother helps me with my school subjects. I play for a while with my cousins. <br />
I wish Mahmoud, my brother, would come back to us again and my grandmother and we would reunite and live as one family again.<br />
My nightmares started after the deaths of my grandmother and my brother."<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
  • Nour, 11, struggles with frequent nightmares ever since the death of her grandmother and older brother Mahmoud.<br />
<br />
"My grandmother, may God rest her soul, died on 5 May 2018. They asked me to see her for the last time to say goodbye to her because she loved me very much.  She loved us all.<br />
The next day, I got sick. My head and my tummy were hurting badly. My parents took me to the hospital. On that day, Monday, the doctors said that I should be taken to a hospital in Israel, and my brother was wounded that same day.<br />
I slept at the hospital for six days, and I started walking a little bit after the first medical treatment. After that I went back home.<br />
The next day, while my mother was praying and asking God for mercy for Mahmoud, my other grandmother called her screaming.<br />
My mum said: “What's going on?”<br />
My grandmother said: “Come downstairs. Mahmoud has died, may God have mercy on him.”<br />
We all started crying, we were all shaken up. None of us slept that day. <br />
He used to take us up to the roof and play with us, me and my sisters. He used to work so that he could buy us clothes and other things we needed.<br />
We are two sisters: My name is Nour and her name is Asma'. And I have two brothers. They were three brothers, but now they have become two.<br />
Mahmoud was killed, God have mercy on him. I still have Muhammad and Muhannad and my parents. My brother, Muhammad, went to the Great March of Return and while he was throwing stones, he was wounded.<br />
In my dreams, I was seeing Israelis [soldiers]. They kicked us out of our house because of my brother and because my grandmother passed away.<br />
When my grandmother died, she took with her the blessing on this house. They wore black clothes and had their faces covered. They beat us and kicked us out and they aimed guns at our heads.<br />
I had nightmares every day. I was scared the whole night and I would go to my mum and sleep next to her.<br />
After I had a few sessions with Ms Kefah, I stopped having nightmares.<br />
During the war and the bombardments, we fled to my uncle’s house in Al-Nasser neighbourhood. Our house was bombed and we lost all the windows. Our grandfather's house was also bombed.<br />
I was scared when my brother was killed and I started having nightmares. <br />
My mum is sick and I'm scared something will happen to her. I love her so much. <br />
I hope that our house becomes beautiful again and that we live together again in one house and that my mother gets better and that God will help her to recover.<br />
When I joined Ms Kefah in ‘the Better Learning Programme’, she taught us rope games, how to deal with bad thoughts, deep breathing, and doing the ship exercise. I started feeling better and the nightmares stopped.<br />
Before I go to sleep, I do some exercises.<br />
When I had nightmares, I would feel afraid and my heart would beat fast and I would shake. I wake up and dress to go to school<br />
and play with my friends. When I come back home, I study and prepare for exams.  My mother helps me with my school subjects. I play for a while with my cousins. <br />
I wish Mahmoud, my brother, would come back to us again and my grandmother and we would reunite and live as one family again.<br />
My nightmares started after the deaths of my grandmother and my brother."<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
  • Umm Muhammad Al Gharbali, Nour's mother.<br />
<br />
"I had five kids; three boys and two girls. Mahmoud was killed. I now have two boys and two girls: Muhammad, Muhannad, Asma’, and Nour.<br />
When Mahmoud was injured, we didn't know that it had happened. He was working that day. He never went to the Great March of Return.<br />
He was at work and it was 14 May. On that day, he went to work and I wasn't at home. I was away from home for four days. I was at Al-Durrra Hospital because Nour was in the intensive care unit. I was with my daughter Nour in the intensive care unit.<br />
On Monday 14 May, I went back home to bring some fresh clothes. They issued a medical transfer for my daughter to go to Israel. Because of my young age, they didn't allow me to travel with my daughter, so her aunt went with her. I went back home to bring some clothes for my daughter Nour and to bring other documents, such as her ID, to prepare her for the medical transfer. <br />
I asked my other daughter if Mahmoud went to work and she told me that he did. I went back to Al-Durra Hospital and I called his manager, Ahmad Yousef. At 3 pm, I was telling him to keep Mahmoud with him and not to let him come back home for now.<br />
He told me that Mahmoud had already gone home.<br />
I called his uncle and told him that Mahmoud had left work at 1 pm and to go look for him. I was afraid his father would punish him for being somewhere away from home. I was very worried about him.<br />
I asked Umm Ahmad about Mahmoud and she said they found him with his friends and that they would bring him home and punish him for being late.<br />
I thanked God that they had found him and he was fine. In reality, they were looking for him everywhere, from hospitals to police stations. They looked everywhere.<br />
Finally, my uncle suggested they go to Al-Quds Hospital. They went there, but they didn't find him.<br />
One of the doctors asked: “Who are you looking for?”<br />
They told him they were looking for their nephew. He said there was someone there in a coma. Ahmad entered with the doctor. My brother-in-law found out that the boy who was in a coma was my son. My son was injured. His injury was critical. He was injured in the head. My son was in a coma for 51 days.<br />
I called Abu Muhammad again and asked him what happened. I told him that I would accept whatever had happened but that he had to tell me what was going on. I just wanted to know exactly what was going on with Mahmoud. He said, "I just want to tell you a few words... Your son needs your prayers because he is in a coma. Your son was shot in the head, he has a critical injury. All he needs now are your prayers to God."<br />
When I arrived, I asked them: “Is my son dead? If not, let me see him." They said, "Ok, You have to be strong."<br />
I walked in and I was afraid. The doctor held my hand as we walked, and told me to be strong. I was walking with my eyes closed. I was afraid to see my son. The doctor told me, "Here is your son."<br />
I opened my eyes. I could not recognise him. I did not find my son,<br />
I found someone else. His head was open and he had shrapnel in his chest. He was living on life support. There were many tubes in his mouth and they wrote, "Anonymous" on him.<br />
When I saw him in this condition, I fainted. Because Mahmoud, he was my backbone and sustenance in this life, he was everything to me.<br />
Five days before his injury, his manager knew our financial situation because he is from Al-Gharabli family. He knows that we're struggling a lot. Mahmoud was telling me that Ahmad Yousef wanted to give him extra money on top of his wage as a treat for ‘Eid. <br />
He said, "He wants to give me an extra 100 shekels."<br />
I told him, "That's good!"<br />
He said, "I want to give 50 shekels of it to you because I know you have been struggling. I want to give you 50 shekels to support you<br />
and I don't want anyone to know about it because nobody judges us but God. This is my gift to you." <br />
I kissed him and I hugged him. Now that I have lost him, I feel I have lost a part of myself. <br />
Nour started having nightmares after her grandmother’s death and her brother’s injury. Her brother was in hospital for 51 days<br />
and Nour was scared. She started having nightmares more often<br />
and sees Israelis [soldiers] in her dreams. She used to see the family and me killed by the Israelis [soldiers] and being attacked in our home. When she got scared, she would come to me for a hug. I'd wash her face when she was scared and tell her that this was just a dream, not reality. Nothing will happen, this was just a nightmare. I'd pour some water on her face and let her sleep beside me.<br />
The school called me because her studies were slipping. I told them she was having nightmares.<br />
They enrolled her in the “Better Learning Programme”.<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
  • Nour and her mother, Umm Muhammad, doing breathing exercises at home.<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
  • Nour and her mother, Umm Muhammad, doing breathing exercises at home.<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
  • Nour and her mother, Umm Muhammad, doing breathing exercises at home.<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
  • Nour and her mother, Umm Muhammad, doing breathing exercises at home.<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
  • Nour and her mother, Umm Muhammad, doing breathing exercises at home.<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
  • Nour and her mother, Umm Muhammad, doing breathing exercises at home.<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
  • Nour and her mother, Umm Muhammad, doing breathing exercises at home.<br />
<br />
Photo: Ahmed Mashharawi/NRC
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