The genocide has left me feeling like a stranger in my own homeland
I was born and raised in Bani Suheila, a town of 40,000 people in the Khan Younis governorate of Gaza. It was a place where everyone knew each other. We lived in a large house surrounded by my extended family and fields planted with olive and fruit trees. Our tightknit community provided a sense of safety and comfort.
Fifteen months of relentless war have destroyed this sense of belonging. My family and I have been forcefully displaced several times already, and although we are still within Gaza, within Palestine, I feel like a stranger.
In December 2023, we had to leave our home for the first time. We fled to what Israel claimed was a “safe zone” in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis. There was complete disarray when we arrived, and we struggled to secure a small spot on the sand to pitch a tent.
We were surrounded by people we did not know. Palestinians from all over Gaza had fled to the area. As I wandered through the camp, I saw only unfamiliar faces. People looked at me with ambiguous gazes as if silently asking, “Who are you, stranger?”
Al-Mawasi used to be a beach where my friends and I loved to go to relax. It was distressing to see it transformed into a displacement camp filled with people grieving........
© Al Jazeera
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