Destruction, displacement, and grief. Senior UNRWA official displays on ‘unprecedented’ battle in Gaza — World Points

135 UNRWA employees members are identified to have been killed in Gaza because the escalation of preventing because the 7 October Hamas assaults on Israel. That is essentially the most ever in a single incident however, regardless of the hazard and intensely tough working circumstances, UNRWA is constant to help these caught up within the preventing by no fault of their very own. With practically two million folks displaced throughout the strip, lots of them compelled to maneuver repeatedly in the hunt for security, this can be a daunting job.

On 19 December, Conor Lennon from UN Information spoke to Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s Director of Communications, in regards to the company’s position within the Occupied Palestine Territories, the impression of misinformation on UNRWA’s work, and the way the staff is dealing with the lack of so many colleagues.

Juliette Touma: It is a very brutal warfare. Once I was in Gaza only a few weeks in the past, I used to be awoken to the sound of bombardment day and evening, I could not assist questioning what it might be like, if I have been a mom making an attempt to get my three kids to sleep each evening.

All of that is unprecedented: the quantity, the extent of destruction, the displacement of individuals, the grief that this has introduced on the company with the lack of colleagues, the hits on our personal amenities, and the truth that all of this occurred in simply over seven weeks. It is like nothing I’ve seen all through my 20 years of service with the United Nations.

There’s additionally the very tight siege that has been imposed on the Gaza Strip now for seven very lengthy weeks, limiting the provides that UN and humanitarian group can herald, equivalent to meals, water, and gasoline.

There at the moment are greater than 1.4 million folks in search of refuge in UNRWA shelters. Our personal employees are grieving, they usually have themselves been displaced, however they’re doing every thing doable.

On the identical time, we have now been subjected to a misinformation marketing campaign because the starting of this battle, with cyber assaults on our web site, our donation website, and on social media lies and rumours have unfold like wildfire.

UN Information: Are you able to share some examples?

Juliette Touma: We have now seen a number of assaults on the best way we train, and what we train in our faculties. We’re the one UN company that runs faculties, and we function 700 of them throughout the area.

We use textbooks which might be offered by the host governments within the 5 areas of operation, however we have now a really strict scrutiny system that appears into the content material of these books, and we prepare our lecturers on a regular basis on the way to train the content material in these books.

Our lecturers are educated to offer schooling in a means that helps the youngsters comply with the values of the United Nations, together with peace and tolerance, and no hatred and no racism.

Different accusations concern the involvement of our employees within the preventing, and their political affiliation with sure armed teams in Gaza.

These misinformation campaigns weaken the efforts of what’s at the moment the biggest humanitarian group within the Gaza Strip, catering to the wants of a minimum of 1.4 million people who find themselves in our shelters.

UN Information: Though your company has come underneath far more scrutiny since 7 October, it has existed because the early days of the UN.

Juliette Touma: Sure, we’re one of many oldest United Nations businesses, and the largest in Gaza, the place we’ve been working for seven a long time.

Our largest programme includes offering schooling however sadly, since 7 October, we have now needed to shut all of our faculties, and switch lots of them into shelters.

We offer main healthcare to over a million folks, and meals help to greater than 1.2 million folks. We additionally present money help and a few money for work applications to households in want.

The communities within the Gaza Strip see UNRWA as a trusted entity, which is why they arrive to our shelters in search of safety and security. They belief the United Nations blue flag to guard them.

UN Information: Over 100 of your amenities have been broken since 7 October, and greater than 130 of your colleagues have been killed. How do you retain moving into these circumstances?

Juliette Touma: I believe we have now a staff of heroes in Gaza. Our frontline staff are there each single day in our shelters, offering help, listening, and offering counselling.

They’re doing different issues which will appear quite simple, however within the context of warfare are completely lifesaving, like gathering rubbish, which began to pile up.

Round 70 per cent of them have been displaced: they’ve misplaced colleagues, neighbours, members of the family, and their houses, but 1000’s of them are nonetheless placing on the UN vest each single morning.

I believe this can be a testomony to the very robust sense of group that Gaza has been identified for, for a lot of a long time, and a society that has endured a decent 15-year blockade, together with a number of cycles of battle.

UN Information: You should be desirous about how this performs out. Are you having these discussions?

Juliette Touma: No, for the quite simple cause that we’re specializing in the right here and now. We have now a really strong staff of execs, extremely skilled in conflicts, pure disasters, and humanitarian work. However, regardless of this huge expertise, all of us say that that is like nothing we have ever seen earlier than.

And so, our focus proper now could be to help individuals who want us most on the bottom in Gaza, herald humanitarian help, inform the story of what’s taking place, and advocate for an finish to this warfare.