Sri Lankan-Palestinian families recall great escape from Gaza

With the Embassy being notified of their struggles and hardships the two families were able to receive the necessary facilities and documents to ensure their safe return to 
Sri Lanka

Two Sri Lankan-Palestinian families shared their experiences and stories of their journeys of being rescued from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border. They have now been safely repatriated to 
Sri Lanka

“Until now the Israeli forces have killed more than 23,000 Palestinians; half of them being children and 20 percent of them being women. They demolished everything including 67 percent of the houses that were built in Gaza. Gaza needs more than 11 years to be rebuilt”
- Zuhair M.H. Zaid 
Palestinian Ambassador 
to Sri Lanka

“I went to Palestine as a housemaid. I lived in Palestine with my 5 children. During the times of war we endured hardships. They started destroying our place with bombs and damaged it completely. Afterwards with the help of the Embassy I somehow managed to escape Palestine with my children”
- Suhaina Al Habbash A mother of one of 
the rescued families

“It was terrifying and there was so much bombing all around. We had no food or water. We didn’t have gas or electricity. Even while escaping from Gaza we witnessed many bombings. It wasn’t easy and until we reached Sri Lanka we were afraid that anything could happen”
- Saed Al Habbash

At a press conference organised by the Embassy of the State of Palestine on Tuesday (January 2) and held in Colombo the Palestinian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Zuhair M.H. Zaid updated Sri Lankans on the present situation of the conflict between Israel and Palestine. He also let the people hear of the devastating experiences of two Sri Lankan-Palestinian families, that were rescued from Gaza and brought to Sri Lanka a few months back. They were rescued with the help of officials from the Sri Lankan Embassy and the Egyptian and Qatar authorities.  

Zaid addressed the gathering by providing an update on the current situation while thanking the individuals who contributed in bringing the Sri Lankan-Palestinian families safely to Sri Lanka. Zaid expressed the saddening state faced by the Palestinians by saying “Until now the Israeli forces have killed more than 23,000 Palestinians; half of them being children and 20 percent of them being women. They demolished everything including 67 percent of the houses that were built in Gaza. Gaza needs more than 11 years to be rebuilt”. He further spoke about the 4000 plus Palestinians who were arrested and tortured in prisons leading to the death of 7 prisoners in Gaza. He concluded by thanking the Government of Sri Lanka, the Egyptian authorities and the Qatar authorities for their efforts and contributions made to rescue Palestinian families trapped in the conflict. 
The mother of one of the rescued families Suhaina Al Habbash spoke about her experience in Palestine during the beginning month of the war. She spoke about her struggles of providing for her five children food and water which were lacking. She even spoke of the extreme devastation that she and her children experienced and seeing their house being destroyed due to the bombs that were dropped in Gaza. “I am from Sri Lanka. I have been in Palestine for 23 years now and been married for 19 years. I went to Palestine as a housemaid. I lived in Palestine with my 5 children. During the times of war we endured hardships. They started destroying our place with bombs and damaged it completely. Afterwards with the help of the Embassy I somehow managed to escape Palestine with my children. However, my husband still remains there,” reminisced Suhaina. 
With the Embassy being notified of their struggles and hardships the two families were able to receive the necessary facilities and documents to ensure their safe return to Sri Lanka. “Officials of the Palestinian Embassy spoke to us and helped us find a way through the Egyptian border. Afterwards we came to Egypt and stayed there for 3 days. After the Embassy sorted our visas and tickets we were sent to Sri Lanka,” she continued.  

Suhaina Al Habbashs’ oldest son Saed Al Habbash, who is 16 years old, recalled his experience and the extreme fear that accompanied him and his brothers throughout his journey from Gaza. He said “It was a normal day. We were sitting in the house until we suddenly heard a huge noise. Later after watching the news, we understood the situation. We didn’t know what to do. It was terrifying and there was so much bombing all around. We had no food or water. We didn’t have gas or electricity. Even while escaping from Gaza we witnessed many bombings. It wasn’t easy and until we reached Sri Lanka we were afraid that anything could happen”. 
The mother from the other family Fathima Riqazah also shared her story. She began by saying “I have been residing in Palestine for 5 years. I have 3 children born in Sri Lanka and one born in Palestine. My husband is from Kuwait and his mothers’ hometown is Palestine.  At 8.30 in the night, they asked us to leave our house. There was no electricity, so we quickly went to a Palestinian University, but as soon as we arrived, we got to know that they were going to bomb the area. Then we went and stayed in a school. During the stay there we spoke to officials of the Embassy requesting help and the Embassy officials made arrangements and helped us come back safely to Sri Lanka”. 
Both Sri Lankan-Palestinian families shared their experiences and stories of their journeys of being rescued from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border. They have now been safely repatriated to Sri Lanka. However they still make efforts to maintain communication with their husbands who still remain in Gaza.