Refugees from the Gaza Strip faced harassment on social networks

Inna is a mother of many children. Together with her family, she was evacuated from the Gaza Strip to Belarus.

The other day a woman published a post on social media:

“Yesterday, one family from the Gaza Strip received rental housing from their place of work. And a discussion began about why we were all given apartments.”

According to Inna, in fact, practically no one was provided with public housing: “We spent four days looking for housing in Minsk, but people refused to rent when they found out that we had 5 children. They also offered us to rent two small rooms with 6 beds in a dorm. We ended up staying in an apartment with relatives.”

The woman suggests that in the future, perhaps, they will find a state apartment to rent, but with the condition that one of the family members gets a job. They will pay the rent themselves.

“I can’t work with a small child. My husband lives on a visa, there are no documents, we need to restore them. To get a job, they require you to pass an exam.”

Inna also mentioned help: “In the first days after our arrival, we were given food, hygiene products and blankets, and provided financial support for the purchase of outerwear. In the future, everything is at your own expense.”

She further summarized: “Comments about the fact that evacuees from Gaza live in luxurious conditions are inappropriate. It’s difficult when you cry at night, don’t find the strength to withstand it all, and then the information comes to you that we’re all rolling around like cheese here.”

We contacted Inna. She refused to discuss the sensitive topic: “I don’t want to prove anything to anyone. People see what they want. It is psychologically difficult when something is attributed to us that does not exist. You can read the comments under the video about the evacuation and the meeting of refugees. There are a lot of reviews of this kind.”

I read. Indeed, they write different things. And about “they came in large numbers”, and about “they help strangers, but abandon their own.”

We talked with those who stayed in Russia about how evacuees actually settle down and what difficulties they face.

“I got a job at a supermarket”

After 30 years in the Gaza Strip, Anna was forced to evacuate to Russia with her husband and two sons. The family settled in Volgograd, in the house of the woman’s late mother.

“In principle, we are happy with everything,” Anna began the conversation. “We’ve done the paperwork, we’re working.” We were helped by relatives, the Palestinian diaspora, the church, and the mosque. Strangers brought clothes and dishes. At first, we didn’t even have enough money for groceries; the supermarket let me borrow money.

Anna and her husband have medical degrees. But in Russia it was not possible to get a job in a specialty: “You have to go through accreditation and get a certificate. No one here knows what kind of doctor you are. All this costs money. Firms charge 20–80 thousand rubles for retraining. My husband wants to go to the pharmaceutical warehouse. But for now he teaches Arabic to children. I work part-time at a supermarket. You have to live somehow.”

The woman tactfully remained silent about the salary: “I’m not used to complaining. Whatever God gives, I’m happy with everything.”

Anna’s children planned to stay in Moscow, but they couldn’t afford the rent. We left for Egypt. The youngest son is graduating from medical university there.

“We send almost all our earnings to our son and relatives in the Gaza Strip. We leave ourselves a minimum wage so that we have enough for utilities and food. In the supermarket I keep track of all the promotions to buy cheaper.

Anna’s son plans to work in Russia after graduating from university.

“His knowledge can be useful here, I see that there are not enough doctors,” notes Anna.

“It’s not just that there are not enough doctors…

— Yes, there are not enough workers, there are no young people in Volgograd at all. The plant needs people, even our supermarket has a problem with personnel,” the interlocutor agrees. — I often think: my husband’s nephews would come here, they would work 24 hours for pennies. Bring Palestinians, they are used to living in modest conditions. Everything would be rebuilt here and gardens would be planted.

Despite the shortage of doctors, Anna praises local medicine: “When I went to the clinic, one grandmother whispered to me: go and see how terrible the conditions are there. Everything is relative. Anyone who criticizes medicine in Russia does not know how things are in the Gaza Strip. In Volgograd we underwent medical examination for free. In Gaza they would pay $300 just for tests.”

– What don’t you like?

— It’s hard to get used to the fact that there is no sun and the climate is cold. Even in Gaza, I walked to work and almost never used transport. And here you have to travel by trains, minibuses, buses, and trams.

Anna is also surprised that Russians don’t smile at all: “In the East, people who don’t smile are immediately asked: what happened, are you sick? When I started working in a supermarket, I didn’t see smiling customers at all. At first I thought that everyone was in trouble. Then I realized this is a normal facial expression for locals.”

While my interlocutor is generally satisfied with everything, many refugees complain.

“I don’t understand why,” the woman is perplexed. – There is a roof over your head, there is food, what else do you need? We know what it’s like to live in tents knee-deep in water or in a refugee camp with no toilet. I stood in the restroom for 30 minutes. Let them remember, and everything will fall into place.

According to Anna, the most difficult thing in Russia is getting children into schools and universities.

— There is a language barrier at school, but the language can be learned. It’s more difficult with universities. All universities in Gaza were bombed; students had no documents left, even in electronic form.

I ask how the newcomers settled in Chechnya. Information from that region is difficult to obtain. People don’t make contact. So Anna carefully selects her words: “You ask them yourself. I know that they live in the camp; one woman works in the canteen. Some people are crying there… I don’t know what else to say. For me, there are four criteria for a good life: work, a piece of bread, a roof over your head and health. The rest will follow.”

Anna hears for the first time about the bullying on social networks that befell refugees after their arrival: “Nobody bullied me. I’m 52 years old, I don’t watch social networks, I don’t have time. And even if we were given allowances, believe me, we did not become richer. We came out of such an ass.”

When it comes to the situation in the Gaza Strip, the woman pauses. And he continues: “It hurts my throat when I see what is happening in Gaza. I eat bread and think: our relatives who stayed there don’t have this. I hear the word “Gaza” and tears well up. I need to see a psychologist, but I’m afraid. We are in Russia with our bodies, but with our souls and hearts in Gaza.”

Anna has a son-in-law, matchmakers, and nephews left in the enclave.

“We had no contact with them for a month, we no longer knew what to think. Every day they opened the website of the Shifa Hospital, where they wrote the names of the dead or missing, and looked for familiar names. Now, if a house is bombed, they don’t look for bodies underneath it, there is no equipment. The names of those who lived in this house are scratched on the ruins. And only 5 ambulances remained in the entire Gaza Strip.

According to the interlocutor, the famous Shifa hospital practically does not function: “My nephew died there from peritonitis. He was shot in the stomach when he went outside to look for water. The wounded man reached Shifa. He did not have the operation because there was no anesthesia. On the third day he was gone. Most people now live in tents in Rafah, a city on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Almost all of them had hepatitis A and pneumonia. IVs are placed right in the tents.”

Tight in the enclave and with food. Especially in the northern part, where humanitarian aid does not arrive.

— Our relatives remained there. In search of food, people are forced to dismantle supermarkets, if there is anything left there. Products have become more expensive. A 50 kg bag of flour costs $1,000. Previously it cost 8 dollars. They bombed a poultry factory, there was mixed feed left there, they ground it and make bread. They cook over a fire: they burn furniture that was left in destroyed houses.

It is impossible to get out of the enclave.

— For departure, Egypt asks 7 thousand dollars per person. And these are Muslims, our neighbors, who insist that they love Palestine…

— Do you ever think of returning to the Gaza Strip?

“My children and husband will definitely return.” My husband says: if our house was bombed, I’ll put up a tent and rebuild our home brick by brick. If he is so inclined, then I will follow him. Everyone I know is planning to return. Palestinians are idealists and patriots, clinging to their land with their teeth.

“An egg costs 2.5 dollars.”

Elena lived in Gaza for many years. But she moved to Russia a long time ago. We met at Domodedovo airport when we were meeting refugees. Today she is in touch with many of those who escaped the enclave.

“Almost everyone stayed to live in sanatoriums and camps,” says Elena. — Relatives in Russia accepted few people. After all, people came with large families, with 4–5 children. There are families of 12 people. Where should we put such a crowd? It is expensive for refugees to rent housing. They ran away without everything – without money and things. Many still cannot find work. A couple of gynecologists stopped in Astrakhan, they were hanging around, they didn’t know where to hang out. For those who have small children in their arms, it’s completely lost. They hardly speak Russian. My niece was supposed to go to 11th grade, but she is not accepted into school, she does not follow the program. Spoken speech is normal, but the problem is with grammar. She was born in Palestine, cannot write in Russian, and cannot read the text fluently. Enrolled her in college. They treat her more loyally there. Our friends had two children who were supposed to go to 1st and 5th grades, but they didn’t take them. They hired a Russian tutor. It’s sad, but at least there is no war.

In the boarding houses where the refugees are staying, people have three meals a day. According to the interlocutor, some are given benefits if they have documents.

“Many of them had their documents burned. People are trying to restore at least Palestinian passports. The situation is complicated by the fact that there is no international mail. You have to transfer the papers through the Palestinian embassy, ​​they somehow send it there. It takes months to obtain a passport.

The woman is also in touch with the Gaza Strip.

“It’s hell there,” Elena characterizes the situation. — No food, water, medicine. People live in tents, and now it’s cold there, the wind chills to the bones. The showers don’t stop for weeks. There are no sewers or drains. Tents are flooded and demolished, and new ones cost $800; they are not given out for free. People buy together and live 20 people per 5 square meters.

Elena left her husband’s brother and family in the Gaza Strip. He can’t leave because they don’t give permission for children.

“They live in Rafah, where almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip has gathered. Products are bought individually because they are expensive. One egg costs 2.5 dollars, a tomato costs more than a dollar. A kilogram of salt is $20. There is no meat. Humanitarian aid does not reach all of it; half of it is stolen by the Egyptians and then sold at the market. In the north of the enclave the situation is even worse. A friend’s son told me that they brew bark instead of tea, chew leaves of lemon trees, and eat grass.

There is no work. Hospitals and schools were destroyed. Only 10 percent of doctors remained, the rest left. There are no antibiotics, medications, bandages, or antiseptics. Doctors stitch up the wounds and amputate them right in the ruins.

“Nevertheless, many refugees plan to return.

“Everyone wants to come back.” But we need to figure out at least what is left of the houses.

— How long will it take to restore the Gaza Strip?

“We doubt that Israel will allow it to be restored.” There are rumors that they want to build a wall and take part of the territory for themselves. People are just waiting for at least the current phase to end.