Zainab
A Gazan baby survived, not to face abandonment all over again.
Cowards. They thought that unleashing an overwhelming force on a baby, cutting her open with their missiles, and leave her lying in a hospital bed with her bowels outside her body, waiting for hours without a surgeon to save her, only for her to survive into a life of endless suffering and injustice, then starving her, and leaving her to suffer for the rest of her life in a worn out tent is something that can be forgiven, or forgotten. They thought they were moral, even after doing far worse.
Zainab is the baby girl who came to me just after midnight nearly a year ago, with her bowels outside her body after their neighbors' tents were attacked. Her mother told me she had to push Zainab's bowels back inside with her bare hands. This is not news, this is what a little baby in Gaza and her mother endured.
Zainab was happy and greeted my arrival with smiles, even though I could feei the terror she endured on her face.
I tried to keep the atmosphere positive, but when her father and mother began telling me, with heartbreak, about the extent of the oppression they’ve faced since Zainab’s injury, and about the destruction of the tent that had been sheltering them. I felt anger and a greater sense of responsibility.
The organization that had promised them a good new tent gave them the smallest tent imaginable and told them they would have to leave it and go elsewhere once Zainab improved.
Zainab is three years old, suffers from malnutrition, and her weight has been the same since she was injured, and has been deprived of any proper nutritional care or attention in that regard.
I saw where Zainab lives today with her father, her mother, and her two brothers. It is a very small room made of cloth, not even a proper tent, offering no protection from the cold of winter or the heat of summer. Insects and mosquitoes get inside easily, and sometimes even rats.
Standing there, it was impossible not to feel that something had to change.
Her parents have done everything for her, and her siblings. But they can't get her to be more safe and happy.
Because of this. I am determined to help turn their lives around, to take action and do what I can to bring some stability, safety, and basic sanitary conditions to this family.
What they need is not temporary relief, but something lasting: a solid structure with insulated walls and a proper roof, along with an attached bathroom.
This is a big project, but it is possible if people come together to make it happen.
We will start witha goal of $10,000 and build from there if more is needed.
If you can help, please do.
Donations can be made to the warm hearts Nusierat campaign and all funds from now on will be used to achieve this cause.
