Jawad Harb
Jawad Harb works for the aid agency CARE, managing a programme supporting women's centres in Gaza. He is a Palestinian and lives in Rafah with his wife and six children. His programme has now restarted after being put on hold when Israeli bombing began.
In Gaza, mothers are at a loss
Author: Jawad Harb
March 25, 2009 Jawad Harb is a Palestinian living in Rafah, Gaza, with his wife and six children. Harb has worked with CARE since 2002, managing a program supporting women's centres in Gaza. It is three months since the first bombs began to fall on Gaza, and I see that this war left much more damaged than just houses. For the past two months, I have been meeting with communities, hearing their experiences, their fears. I realized that it left very deep injuries for these women and families. It changed their lifestyles, the way they think and live together, where they sleep, how they cope. Everything is changed. ...
Author: Jawad Harb
March 25, 2009 Jawad Harb is a Palestinian living in Rafah, Gaza, with his wife and six children. Harb has worked with CARE since 2002, managing a program supporting women's centres in Gaza. It is three months since the first bombs began to fall on Gaza, and I see that this war left much more damaged than just houses. For the past two months, I have been meeting with communities, hearing their experiences, their fears. I realized that it left very deep injuries for these women and families. It changed their lifestyles, the way they think and live together, where they sleep, how they cope. Everything is changed. ...
Dad, why did my friend die?
Author: Jawad Harb
Jan. 29 2009 Saturday was the first day of school for my children. My 12-year-old son Yazan is in the 6th grade. He went to school and realized he lost six schoolmates. One of the boys used to sit in the desk behind Yazan, so every time he turns and looks behind him, the boy he used to talk to, to laugh with, is not there anymore. The children lived through the air strikes, the danger, the lack of sleep, and now they have a world that they don't recognize. They can't understand why their classmates are dead. Yazan asks me, "Why did my friend die? Why was his house hit? What did he do wrong?" ...
Author: Jawad Harb
Jan. 29 2009 Saturday was the first day of school for my children. My 12-year-old son Yazan is in the 6th grade. He went to school and realized he lost six schoolmates. One of the boys used to sit in the desk behind Yazan, so every time he turns and looks behind him, the boy he used to talk to, to laugh with, is not there anymore. The children lived through the air strikes, the danger, the lack of sleep, and now they have a world that they don't recognize. They can't understand why their classmates are dead. Yazan asks me, "Why did my friend die? Why was his house hit? What did he do wrong?" ...
Today, I am hopeful
Author: Jawad Harb
Jan. 19, 2009 The first thing I noticed was the quiet. For the first time in three weeks, there were no bombs, no screams. Ceasefire. Last night, for the first time in three weeks, I was able to sleep for six hours. Our children slept peacefully. They were not worried or frightened. I can watch them sleeping at night, and not worry about a bomb falling on the house. I felt human again. ...
Author: Jawad Harb
Jan. 19, 2009 The first thing I noticed was the quiet. For the first time in three weeks, there were no bombs, no screams. Ceasefire. Last night, for the first time in three weeks, I was able to sleep for six hours. Our children slept peacefully. They were not worried or frightened. I can watch them sleeping at night, and not worry about a bomb falling on the house. I felt human again. ...
Gaza: Tomorrow is another war day
Author: Jawad Harb
Jan. 14, 2009 Today is the 19th day of war on Gaza. Two days ago, Israel warned residents in my neighbourhood to flee their houses near the border with Egypt ahead of planned bombardments of cross-border tunnels. Yesterday, January 13th, at 3:15 p.m., it was relatively quiet. The air strikes have been every 30-45 minutes at the border, about 500 metres away from our neighborhood. A group of 20 children were playing downstairs together, including three of my kids. I was on the balcony of my house on the 2nd floor, watching the children playing hide and seek. ...
Author: Jawad Harb
Jan. 14, 2009 Today is the 19th day of war on Gaza. Two days ago, Israel warned residents in my neighbourhood to flee their houses near the border with Egypt ahead of planned bombardments of cross-border tunnels. Yesterday, January 13th, at 3:15 p.m., it was relatively quiet. The air strikes have been every 30-45 minutes at the border, about 500 metres away from our neighborhood. A group of 20 children were playing downstairs together, including three of my kids. I was on the balcony of my house on the 2nd floor, watching the children playing hide and seek. ...
The bombs came today - there is nowhere to go
Author: Jawad Harb
Jan. 13, 2009 - 6.15 p.m., local time The leaflets came yesterday, telling us our neighbourhood would be attacked. The whole population of the area is terrified. We have nowhere to go. My neighbour checked at the UNRWA shelter but it was full. Overflowing. There is nowhere to go. We waited to be bombed. The bombs came today. It was terrifying. We have nowhere to run. There was an air strike every five minutes. Thick black smoke 100m-150m away from us. People were scared, ran outside of their houses and gathered together in the street. 300-350 people in the street. The street was the safest place. If our house is bombed, we'll get trapped and die like the people we saw on television. ...
Next entries
Author: Jawad Harb
Jan. 13, 2009 - 6.15 p.m., local time The leaflets came yesterday, telling us our neighbourhood would be attacked. The whole population of the area is terrified. We have nowhere to go. My neighbour checked at the UNRWA shelter but it was full. Overflowing. There is nowhere to go. We waited to be bombed. The bombs came today. It was terrifying. We have nowhere to run. There was an air strike every five minutes. Thick black smoke 100m-150m away from us. People were scared, ran outside of their houses and gathered together in the street. 300-350 people in the street. The street was the safest place. If our house is bombed, we'll get trapped and die like the people we saw on television. ...
