I cannot take her words out of my head: the way she sounded well throughout the first part of our conversation and then how her voice was full of tears.
“I went to check on my mother, and I found her crying. When I asked her about the reason, she looked at me and said, ‘I am hungry. Very hungry’.”
My friend, a wonderful woman and mother of four young men, stayed with her family in the north. For five months I had tried to reach her but failed. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw her number on my mobile.
“Oh my God, you are alive! Alive!” I said.
“And you are too!” she replied.
After a while, I dared to ask her about whether there is food and water available. She told me they haven’t had a vegetable in five months; that a small amount of flour costs hundreds of dollars; and how hard the situation has been for her and her family.
When she spoke about her mother, she couldn’t keep a steady, happy tone of voice and started crying. She told me that she wishes she could give her everything she wants. She shared with me that, one time, they were able to secure enough flour to prepare one loaf of bread for each of her sons.
“My sons ate half of their loaves and brought me the remaining halves, telling me it is for their grandmother. My youngest (11 years old) told me his two halves were not even, but he decided to give her the bigger one.”
When she asked me how we are doing, I couldn’t complain about the lack of food, or the high prices, or the diseases, or the stress we are going through, because I knew that whatever we (those who moved south) have been through, they have gone through much worse.
At the end of the conversation, she tries to joke: “My husband has always wanted to lose weight, yet he couldn’t. In the previous five months, he lost over 35kg [5st 7lb]!”
Before we ended our phone call, I told her how much I hope to see her again. I told her that whenever I think of her, I remember the video she posted reacting to her eldest son’s results in high school. In Gaza, all high school students go through general unified exams that they must pass to enrol into universities. There was a trend on social media to document the minute they received their results and grades, while showing the reaction of their proud parents. I remember how she jumped in the air, eyes full of tears and joy and how she and her husband hugged their son.
Another thing I will always remember is the day she came to me and told me that she and her husband were finally able to pay the first instalment for their new home. A home, unfortunately, they had to evacuate from.