'People Don't Laugh Anymore'

Youth Reports: 'People Don't Laugh Anymore'
Text messages from Mercy Corps' youth correspondents inside Gaza describe a general sense of fear and despair, and hopes of a return to normal life soon

From: Mercy Corps



(Jan. 13) Youth involved in Mercy Corps' Gaza programs are feeling the effects of Israel's military action against Hamas. These updates come mostly via SMS from participants in our Global Youth Connectivity initiative, a program that links students from the Middle East with their peers in the U.S.

Hothayfa. © Mercy CorpsHothayfa: "There is no safe place in Gaza; we moved in with my grandparents thinking that their neighborhood is safer, but last night we were watching a movie on my laptop and all of a sudden an adjacent building was bombarded, luckily no one had a major injury because we were sitting right under the window, but the broken glass was all over and some of us had minor injuries, and we could probably sleep for an hour or so. This is an incident that I will never forget.

"There are many changes...buildings are destructed, people changed; all they talk about is the war, people don't laugh anymore, they are just scared, worried and they have no clue as to what might happen."

Nasser: "Last night there was a lot of bombing, but it is quieter during the day. All the trees in our garden were burnt yesterday. I just hope that nothing else happens. People in Gaza do not believe that there is democracy in the world because of all what is happening to us, everyone is wondering why isn't all this stopped if there is democracy. People are desperate; they do not care about anything anymore....

"We used to walk around in Gaza and notice all the nice places there, but now every 50 meters there are damaged buildings and houses. The Legislative Council used to be a beautiful building but now it's all black, many institutes and buildings are burnt."

(Jan. 12) Ziad: "We ran out of cooking gas so our neighbors make us coffee or tea. I heard that there is humanitarian aid but I did not see anything.

"The days are all the same, we are bored, there's continuous shelling and no where is safe."

Reem. © Mercy CorpsReem: "We had stored food and my father goes shopping for the basic things during the short cease fire, but still it's not very safe to go out during the cease fire. Moreover, we are running out of cash; there are no salaries and no money at the banks....No aid is coming in to Gaza from INGOs.

"The air is polluted; it's full of dust and gases, people are scared, our building is empty, there is no life, the city is empty and haunted if you will.

"We have never experienced such a thing, we are considering moving to another country if possible and just leave everything in Gaza. We cannot sleep and we do not know if we will wake up the next morning. But the thing is that at the moment it is very difficult to leave home and go somewhere else especially that everywhere in Gaza is not safe anymore."

Mercy Corps works in dozens of countries to alleviate suffering, poverty, and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities. Since the 1980s, Mercy Corps has helped Palestinians build a more peaceful and hopeful future by connecting teenagers in Gaza to their peers in U.S. high schools, helping people with disabilities amplify their voice in society, and giving enterprising young women in the West Bank the opportunity to learn marketable new skills.