The war in Gaza increases the isolation of people with disabilities and deepens the crisis of access to basic services
Saeed returned to what was left of his house. Cracked walls, a staircase that was about to fall, and rubble impeding the movement of his wheelchair. There is no paved road, no safe passage, and no home suitable for the life of a person who requires minimal access and protection.
Saeed Bakroun says: Before the war, I lived in this place in peace and security, and I could move around with this chair easily and conveniently, because the walls were strong and protective. But after the war, as you can see, the walls have collapsed, and the difficulty of movement, or even the impossibility of movement, is the norm. I had no alternative to this house except a tent, and a tent, as you know, is worse than a house, or renting a house for a huge sum, and my capabilities do not allow me to do that.”
Saeed’s story summarizes a less visible aspect of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza: the lives of people with disabilities, especially those with visual, hearing, or complex disabilities, amid widespread destruction, repeated displacement, a collapse in health and rehabilitation services, and a severe shortage of assistive devices.
United Nations organizations say that the war has doubled the fragility of this group. People who cannot hear evacuation orders, cannot see the road, or cannot move without assistance face double danger in an environment where danger zones and displacement are rapidly changing.
Moayad helps his father, Saeed Bakroun, move around in his wheelchair in the Gaza Strip.
According to UN data, many people with disabilities in Gaza have lost their assistive devices, including wheelchairs and hearing aids, while estimates indicate that tens of thousands have suffered significant hearing damage as a result of repeated explosions.
Before the war, Saeed worked as a broadcaster on a local radio. The commute to work was possible, and the wheelchair was a means of mobility rather than a sign of isolation. Today, leaving the house has become a dangerous journey.
Saeed says:Before the war, I was working as a broadcaster on one of the local radio stations, and I could go back and forth to this radio station easily and conveniently, due to the ease of the road. But now, after the war, the roads are unpaved, and the house, as you can see, is on the verge of collapse.”.
Blind Saeed Bakroun leans on his son Moayad’s shoulders to go up to his house on the second floor of the war-damaged building where they live.
On the second floor of the destroyed house, Saeed sits and reads a book in Braille. Around him are demolished houses and displacement tents. For him, reading was not a passing hobby, but a personal space for mental and spiritual survival. But the fire that struck his house left him with only two books.
He says: “ This book in my hand, in addition to another book, are the only two books that survived the fire that struck my house due to the war. Therefore, I currently feel very bored because I have lost my most important hobby and what I fill my free time with most, which is reading.”
The World Health Organization estimates that about forty-three thousand people injured in Gaza have suffered life-changing injuries since October 2023, and that more than fifty thousand war-related injuries require long-term rehabilitation.
These injuries include amputations, spinal injuries, severe burns, brain injuries and complex fractures. The organization says that rehabilitation facilities in Gaza are not operating at full capacity, and that sufficient equipment and assistive devices are not entering to meet the increasing need.
Saeed Bakroun reads one of the two books that survived after his library burned down due to the war, using Braille.
As for the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, it estimated before the war that there were about fifty-eight thousand people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip. But the war and the resulting injuries and lack of treatment and rehabilitation have made this number likely to rise significantly, at a time when access to care is declining, supply chains are disrupted, and the difficulty of obtaining wheelchairs, hearing aids, medical glasses, crutches, and prosthetic limbs is increasing.
The United Nations says most Gazans continue to face insecurity and prolonged and renewed displacement, with limited access to basic services. She adds that overcrowded displacement sites, damaged buildings, and temporary shelters lack adequate conditions for water, sanitation, and protection, conditions that make the lives of people with disabilities more complex and dangerous.
For Saeed, the issue is not just about a cracked house or a rickety chair. It’s a matter of survival. When bombing occurs, many people can run or move to another place. As for him, he needs someone to see him, someone to push his chair, and someone to know the way.
Saeed says:My only concern is to search for a safe place and a safe haven that can guarantee me a safe life due to this collapsed place. For example, when the bombing happens, a normal person can easily get out and move from one place to another, but as for me, my health condition does not allow me to do that.“.
Saeed Bakroun in what remains of his house, which was destroyed by the war.
International Day of Audiovisual Impairment
in International Day of Audiovisual Impairmentwhich falls on June 27 every year, Gaza appears to be a harsh example of what it means to lose access in a place where almost everyone loses the ability to choose.
But the tragedy of people with disabilities there is not only injury or disability, but rather the absence of the environment that makes life possible: a safe home, a good road, an assistive device, a rehabilitation service, and an alarm that can be heard, seen, or understood at the right time.
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