Editor’s Note: Osama Damo is deputy Gaza program manager with Save the Children. He and his wife have been displaced twice since the conflict began; their apartment has suffered damage in the fighting. Currently they are living in a three-bedroom apartment in Gaza City with 15 other members of their extended family, including four children ages 7, 3, 18 months and 10 months.
Osama Damo
Save the Children
We are so afraid.
Saturday was the worst night. Ground troops and fighting came within yards of where we are staying. All of us spent a harrowing night in the corridor, the only protection we could find.
The children screamed for four hours straight.
We are trying to decide whether or not we should spend another night here — but where else would we go? There is a lot of confusion. Wherever we go will be a nightmare. My wife’s parents have so many people already jammed into their house. They have no generator or water. We do not know what to do.
We are doing the best we can, we are surviving. But I miss home, with all the meaning of the word.
The powerlessness is terrible. The other day Zaina, who is 3, became completely distraught because she had forgotten her lollipop at home when she and her parents fled. She was inconsolable when we told her she could not go back to get it. We could not comfort her.
A former colleague was killed Thursday in his house. His wife — who does not have any other family members in Gaza — is injured and their baby is in intensive care. She is alone.
I never really understood the issues brought about by forced displacement. Now I know. Nothing in life is as valuable as home.
Click here for Osama Damo’s earlier posts.
| PA |
January 12th, 2009 1:27 pm ET Osama I so wish there was something we as a people could do to free you and all the Gazan people. I can’t even imagine your plight but my heart aches for you and all who have been displaced, injured and have lost loved ones. No one should have to endure such inhumane treatment. It is a travesty that should not be taking place. I pray for you and the people of Gaza day and night and I will continue. Surely, God will hear the prayers being offered for you and your people from every corner of the world. I hope you all will be safe and this atrocity against innocent people will end now. God Bless. |
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| Chris Sosa - Boston, MA |
January 12th, 2009 2:38 pm ET Osama, You, along with all of those caught in this conflict, are in my thoughts and prayers. Violence is so innately senseless, if only the powers-at-be would see what seems so clear to many of the rest of us. Unfortunately, the deep roots, past rivalries, revisionist history, and clan mentality have done nothing but cloud the judgment of all those with the power to stop this horrible violence. Thank you for what you are doing for these innocent children. May God bless you for it and keep you, your family and loved ones, and the innocent civilians safe in these horrible circumstances. |
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| earle,florida |
January 12th, 2009 4:25 pm ET It’s a shame that were in the 21st century, and those inflicted by this needless loss of life on “Woman,and Children” will most certainly foster tomorrows suicide bombers! What the perpetrators should well be aware of (21st century technology) that a “suitcase strap-on” in a decade or so,could turn the desert into a “Glass Inferno”,… |
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| Annie Kate |
January 12th, 2009 4:27 pm ET I hope that peace comes quickly and that a long term agreement can be negotiated so all can live without the threat of rockets, tanks, and other destruction that threatens the people in this area today. The children especially need this; they are at the tender age that all this trauma will have a lasting impression on them – peace needs to come quickly or there will be another healthy crop of insurgents from this group of children when they get older. |
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| Mary |
January 12th, 2009 4:42 pm ET Mr. Damo, You have the heart of a lion. I am so glad that those children have you and your wife. Is there anything that I could do to help? |
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| Vicky, Ottawa, ON |
January 12th, 2009 5:46 pm ET Osama, I read your posting with a very heavy heart, the more so because there seems to be little any of us as individuals can do to relieve your distress. Your postings are very powerful accounts of the circumstances you and your family are facing, and perhaps it may help to know that you have some power or control over your present circumstances through your postings. Keep writing…you must have Internet access somehow. Thank you for keeping us aware, and I hope and pray that this nightmare will end for you soon. It must be impossible to make decisions without knowing how best to keep your family safe. I’m sure your work with Save the Children means you have much knowledge in how to help children who have been traumatized, but none of that helps when the trauma is ongoing, and you cannot remove yourselves from the situation. The powerlessness and lack of control is horrible, and I think of the little girl who is powerless to comfort herself even with the lollipop she remembered was hers. We will hope to hear from you again. How much aid is getting through? There is some action we can take in terms of funding humanitarian relief, but that seems so remote from meeting your needs. |
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| Celeste, Murfreesboro,TN |
January 12th, 2009 10:19 pm ET War is a terrible thing. My heart & prayers go out to you and the others, and the children. |
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| PA |
January 13th, 2009 8:56 am ET I don’t condone Hamas. But I certainly don’t condone Israel’s Slaughter on an inncoent people trapped like animals in Gaza, no where to go or a means to get there. Over 900 lives have been lost in Gaza inc. women and children to Israel’s attacks. Today Israel notched up warfare on Gaza! This brand of warfare on innocent people is Deplorable. Israel could have evacuated the people of Gaza and fought the enemies vs kill civilians! The people of Gaza are innocent citizens undeserving of this slaughter. Contrary to popular beliefs all Gazans did not elect Hamas to Office! But all are paying the price for a few! Disgusting! The world needs to demand an end to this senseless killing now. |
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| Michele, Save the Children colleague |
January 13th, 2009 10:43 am ET Osama – Our hearts and prayers are with you and your family. I work for Save the Children (home office) and have the greatest amount of respect and admiration for our brave field staff. The work that is accomplished on a daily basis is truly inspirational. Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do to help. Stay Positive, Michele Michele Dugan |
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