International Women’s Day in Gaza – UNRWA employee: The agency has been part of my life since the moment I was born

Hajar Abed, mother and employee of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWAIn Gaza, she suffered loss, hunger and displacement like other Gazan women, but she insisted on continuing her work to help people in Gaza during the war and after it.

before International Women’s DayWe had the opportunity to meet her, and she told us about her life, which changed radically after she lost her son, and her second son was injured while trying to get flour for his family.

UN News: Welcome, Hajar. Tell us about how your life changed during the war?

Hajar AbedI thank you for this meeting and I hope that it will be a message to the people and the world. The war turned our lives upside down and made us lose everything, everything. The simplest thing you can think of, we’ve lost it.

We lost the house, we lost the contents of the house, we lost all the basics of life, such as electricity and water, we lost education, we lost follow-up in clinics, we lost our children, we lost everything. everything. We lost security.

For a period of time we did not find bread or flour. War is a very ugly thing. War is the most difficult thing that can happen to any person or any region. She’s a nightmare! The war may end, but you will not wake up from your nightmare… You will not wake up from it.

United Nations News: How were you able to continue your work during the war?

Hajar Abed: UNRWA has been a part of my life since I was born. I was born in its health center, received my education in its schools, and then completed my studies in its community college. I am a refugee and the daughter of this institution. I believe in its humanitarian mission to serve Palestine refugees in education, health and relief.

Working in it is not just a job; It is a message. What is most important to me is belief in the humanitarian role we play.

During the war, work was for me a way to escape from constant thoughts of danger and a sense of responsibility towards people in need. As an UNRWA employee, we have an essential role in crisis management and providing humanitarian assistance.

I started working in an UNRWA shelter center in Rafah, which housed about 30,000 displaced people. We were registering the displaced and distributing aid, including food, health materials, and special needs for women and children. We provided daily meals according to the number of family members, in addition to clothes and basic materials.

From the first day of the war, UNRWA was on the ground. People went to its schools as safer places, and the services provided were clear and tangible on the ground. In crises, everyone knows that UNRWA is present. During the war, it provided flour and aid to all citizens, refugees and non-refugees.

Later, after the Rafah invasion, I returned to my home in eastern Khan Yunis, and it was almost destroyed. Then I joined the operations headquarters in Khan Yunis, and continued to perform my administrative duties and follow up on the work teams.

United Nations News: You lost your son Muhammad. Tell us a little about him, please?

Hajar AbedMuhammad was 27 years old, finished his studies in special education, and loved helping people with disabilities. He was a kind young man, very close to me, and my support after God. His wedding was supposed to be a few days after the outbreak of war in October 2023.

He finished all his preparations and was excited to start his life. We lived through months of an uneasy war: from displacement with his friends and other places, to displacement in Rafah. Believe me, he never once told me why his luck was bad or why the war happened. Unfortunately, with the war there is no safe place left during this period.

One day he went to school, which is a shelter center, to use the Internet. I had not missed half an hour and we heard the sound of targeting. It was ruled out that the school was targeted because it was full of displaced people. I waited for him to call me and tell me I am here, but he did not call or answer my call.

There was a commotion in the street, and we understood that it was a bombing targeting a specific person and the place was crowded. 40 people were killed, including Muhammad and his friends. And everything is gone, the dream is gone, the wedding and everything is gone. The hardest thing in a person’s life is loss. In an instant, it’s all over.

United Nations News: How do you find hope in light of what you suffered during the war?

Hajar Abed: I see hope in my work and in my male and female colleagues: they, in light of the danger and responsibilities that fall on their shoulders, deal humanely with everyone. I saw hope in the faces of our children. Under the bombardment, they wanted to go to school with the most basic necessities of education. They carried a small bag containing a pen and an eraser. They did not even have a bag.

So I asked them where are you going and they told me to school, but which school in light of this destruction? I also see hope in the faces of young women and men carrying laptops, searching like Muhammad for the nearest place with the Internet in order to take an exam or attend a lecture. This is the height of hope. From the heart of danger, they live their lives with hope.

United Nations News: On International Women’s Day, how would you like people to understand your journey as a mother and an employee?

Hajar Abed: Being a mother and an employee at the same time, especially in the conditions of Gaza, requires strength, patience and hope. There are no real facilities in public life here that support working women, and everything is on their shoulders. There are great sacrifices, but also achievements that give you satisfaction.

Motherhood and work are one path, both require balance, contentment and endurance. When you believe in your message, you can continue despite all challenges. I thank all the women of Gaza for their steadfastness. I hope that God will lift this cloud, and that the world will support these women and appreciate their sacrifices.