In one of the corners of the tent, which Mohammed Khalil shares with his aunt, children and other relatives, stands a large black bag. There are the family’s photo albums, wrapped in extra plastic bags so they won’t be destroyed.
– When the Israeli soldiers approached our area, we decided that the family would evacuate first and, if necessary, I would follow, says Mohammed Khalil.
Managed to save a possession when the house burned down
As fighting quickly became intense in the area and the house was bombed, Mohammed Khalil was also forced to flee.
– The whole house burned down and all my possessions disappeared. I managed to save only one thing: my memories. All pictures from a time when we were happy and laughing, says Mohammed Khalil.
Since international journalists are not allowed into Gaza, TV4 has commissioned freelancer Samy Zyara, who lives in Gaza, to let families tell how they are doing to create a form of security in the middle of the war. He meets Khalil Mohammed and his family in a refugee camp in southern Gaza. It is the fourth time they have been evacuated since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
Each time they bring everything they can to survive: medicines, mattresses, blankets, clothes, food. But one of the bags is not necessary to survive, but rather to continue to exist.
– Everything we had is gone, the only thing we have left are these pictures, says Khalil, flipping through the albums.
“Maybe there is a future”
His aunt Zahia Ahmed Al Shaer flips through one of the albums, showing photos from the 1980s when Gazans could freely travel to the West Bank and meet friends.
– And look here is my son Bilal when he was a child, she laughs.
Zahia says the younger children often ask to look at the albums. The adults think it is important that the younger ones are reminded of times when they could hang out and go on trips together. That there is something other than war, hunting for food and days without school.
– The pictures show how we felt. If those in charge of the war can come to an agreement, maybe there is a future for us too, says Khalil Mohammed.