Thank God, we are fine.

Every one of us is shattered in every way. 

It’s traumatic, Dr., I swear to God what is happening to us is traumatic!

I don’t know why I am laughing and at the same time crying on the inside. I laugh at the distress, sorrow, pain, what had happened, and what is yet to happen!!

I want to talk and explain to you our situation. 

The situation is horrible. Our area is threatened and the IDF announced it among the blocks to be evacuated. We contacted many people and tried hard to find a different place to migrate to, but unfortunately there was not a single place to go! There are no places to go , and they would tell us to go stay on a bare land with sand!!

How can I stay on bare land with sand? My father’s situation and his health, the cold, my son Eyas, and yesterday my sister-in-law gave birth to twin babies (Rita – Bashar)…

It’s very difficult to do that! These are poor little kids, with the cold nights and staying on the street?!! No, we can’t do that!

Let me tell you something. This event, that Nisreen gave birth to Rita and Bashar, changed our experience! We became preoccupied with them little munchkins! At least for a brief moment, we had normal feelings like anyone living, loving life, and enjoying themselves. Glory be to God, we don’t know if we will live to see them grow in front of our eyes… but how from the heart of tragedy and suffering, happiness is born and with it such positive energy and hope. 

Indeed it is like this… life from the heart of death…

Anyways…

we had decided to stay in the place we went to from Gaza city to Khan Younis. 

But!!

Unfortunately, yet again we had to migrate, but this time with more pain and grieving because we were divided such that mom, dad، my wife, my son, and I migrated to Rafah… 

My twin brother, his wife, and the twin babies (Rita and Bashar) moved to the Zawaydeh area in the middle of Gaza… 

I cannot describe the feeling when the family is split and everyone is in a different place, so the worry and anxiety are doubled…

Thank God, a phrase that became very difficult to say as it deeply pains the heart…

May God save us and protect us all. 

Kareem Abu Shaaban

United Palestinian Appeal – Gaza, Palestine
Note: Kareem works closely with mental health professionals but is not an MHP himself. 
19 December 2023

To read all stories in the series: http://upaconnect.org/category/gaza2023

لقراءة السلسلة كاملة، تفقد الرابط أعلاه

حياة من قلب الموت: سلسلة عن تجارب اخصائيين نفسيين تحت القصف – القصة الثالثة والثلاثون

الحمدلله احنا بخير.
الواحد مدمر على كل الأصعدة.
صدمة يا دكتورة اقسم بربي صدمة يلي قاعد بصير فينا!
مش عارف ليش قاعد بضحك وبنفس الوقت بعيط من داخلي. بضحك من الهم والحزن والوجع وكل شي صار ورح يصير!!

بدي احكيلك واشرحلك وضعنا.
الوضع سيء جدا. منطقتنا مهددة ونزلها الجيش ضمن البلوكات للاخلاء.
وحاولنا اتصالات كتيرة ننزح على مكان تاني. بس للاسف ما في اماكن بتاتا! فش مكان بحكولنا روح اقعد في ارض فاضية خالية ما فيها شي غير ارض ورمل!!!
كيف بدي اقعد بارض ورمل؟ وضع بابا وصحته، والبرد، واياس ابني وامبارح زوجة اخويا ولدت توأم بيبي (ريتا – بشار)!)
صعب جدا نعمل هيك، حرام هدول اطفال، الجو برد بالليل ونقعد بالشارع!! لا ما منقدر نعمل هيك!

واخبرك شغلة. هاد الحدث انه نسرين ولدت واجو ريتا وبشار غيرولنا جو! صرنا ملخومين فيهم كتاكيت صغار! على الاقل بنرجع نحس بالشعور الطبيعي لاي انسان يعيش وينبسط ويحس بروح الحياة ولو لفترة بسيطة. سبحان الله، احنا مش عارفين رح نعيش ونشوفهم بيكبرو قدامنا، بس كيف من قلب المأساة والمعاناة بتخلق سعادة ومعها طاقة ايجابية وامل.
عن جد هيا هيك… حياة من قلب الموت…

المهم…
كنا مقرريين انه نضل مكاننا يلي نزحنا عليه من غزة الى خان يونس. ولكن!!
للاسف اضطرينا ننزح للمرة الثانية بس هالمرة بألم وبكاء بسبب انه اتقسمنا انا وبابا وماما وزوجتي وابني نزحنا على رفح…
واخويا التوأم وزوجته والبيبيهات (ريتا وبشار) نزحوا على الوسطى منطقة الزوايدة… شعور لا يوصف انه العيلة تتفرق ويصير كل حدا بمكان والقلق والخوف بصير مضاعف… الحمدلله، هاي الكلمة اللي صارت من اصعب الكلمات الواحد يحكيها وبتوجع القلب كتير… ربنا يسلمنا ويحفظنا جميعا يا رب.

كريم أبو شعبان
مؤسسة النداء الفلسطيني الموحد – غزة، فلسطين
ملاحظة: كريم يعمل مع الاخصائيين النفسيين في غزة ولكنه ليس اخصائي نفسي
١٩ كانون الاول ٢٠٢٣

About Mental Health Professionals Under Attack

Dr. Dinah Ayna, a clinical psychologist and mental health consultant and a member of UPA’s International Advisory Board, has been supporting our Healing through Feeling team in Gaza since 2018 and continues to support those she can reach throughout this war. Two weeks into the recent aggression against Gaza, Dr. Ayna agreed with different mental health professionals inside and outside UPA on the importance of sharing their stories with the world. The professionals wrote their experiences in Arabic, and Dr. Ayna then edited, translated, and sent the stories back for final approval from the original authors before sharing. Authors also sent pictures that were edited to protect their identities and published, with approval, along with the stories. Nicknames were given to those who did not want to be identified.