A snowy day in Istanbul on January 26, 2022. (Photo: Shady Al-Assar/APA Images)
Filed by Tareq S. Hajjaj
Is it worth leaving Gaza to seek work in foreign countries to support
yourself and build your future when you can’t do this at home? This is a
question that I have pondered for years. I always chose to stay in
Gaza because I convinced myself that even if I couldn’t find a job there
was always the chance I could get one, but if I lose my home it would
be irreplaceable. I love being in my home and no matter what the
conditions are this is still my only homeland.
Although not everyone in Gaza agrees with me. There are thousands who
choose to leave Gaza for work and fulfill their sense of
responsibility. However, traveling is highly expensive for Palestinians
in Gaza. Some people get loans and ask their mothers and sisters to sell
their jewelry to help cover the costs. And then when they manage to
leave Gaza, mostly to go to Turkey which is one of the only countries
that does not deny entry, Palestinians often see the ugly reality of
seeking work outside of Gaza. They finally do have jobs, but these jobs
strip them their time and their life.
In the past month, I traveled outside Gaza for the first time in my life. I went to Turkey and I stayed with someone who is originally from my neighborhood. Staying with him was beneficial for both of us. For me it was helpful because I was getting a medical procedure and I needed to have someone around in case I needed help. For him it was useful because I helped him pay for his room.
Abu Shadi, 38, wants me to tell his story, but also wants me to use
this pseudonym as a way to hide his sorrow. He left his wife and five
kids in Gaza and came to Turkey three months ago. Over the last two
years he had been put in debtor’s prison several times after being unable to pay off his loans and losing his business.
He was not able to find a job in Gaza despite having experience as a
builder, tailor, and mechanic, and it became impossible for him to
fulfill his debts.
Eventually he decided to go to Turkey to work. He thought he could
make money fast and then get back to his family and live peacefully
having finally paid off his debt, but these were unreachable dreams.
He arrived in Turkey in September and found a job on his third day
there at a cloth factory. But he then quickly found out that the job
only paid him enough to cover his food and rent for the room he lives
in.
Instead of solving his problems, he faced new challenges to survive. But in Turkey he at least has a job to feed himself.
During the three weeks we lived together I saw his lifestyle and it
was really hard. He wakes up everyday at 5 a.m and heads to the kitchen
to prepare two meals at the same time. One is his breakfast that he has
before leaving, and the other is his lunch because he does not want to
spend half of his daily income on lunch at a restaurant. And he gets
back home at 10 p.m and goes directly to his bed without changing his
clothes.
When we spoke he always blamed the conditions which forced him to
leave Gaza. He badly wants to return but there are many reasons that
keep him from doing so.
“If I go back, I bet that I will head to the jail instead of my home and family,” he told me several times.
“No one cares that the three cars I used to own were bombed in the
2021 war when the Israeli airplanes destroyed our family home in
Al-Nusurat refugee camp. I lost all my capital and no one compensated
me. This is the outcome of that accident — I have been forced to leave
my home, my kids, my wife, and live here in Istanbul running away from
jail for a sin I’m not responsible for. If I still had my cars I would
be able to work and pay my debts,” Abu Shadi explained.
I was helping him in indirect ways to keep his pride intact. I paid
the full month of the rent and I brought him every type of food that he
desired but can’t afford.
He told me that he wishes to return to Gaza, but he can’t. He also
wishes to bring his family to Istanbul to live together, but he also
can’t. “If I bring them here we will all starve to death in a country
where no one helps each other.”
I heard many conversations between him and his wife where she asked
him to send money to buy his kids winter clothes. He would get mad at
her and tell her that he can’t even afford his own food. One time I
heard his wife crying, and she told him that he abandoned his family.
This hurt him badly. After that call he spent the night staring at the
ceiling, sometimes crying.
I have many friends who are in a similar situation to Abu Shadi. They
all left Gaza seeking jobs and found them, but they are not their dream
jobs. These jobs offer them enough for food and rent and a little cash,
but if any issues come up or they need money for medical reasons, they
need to ask friends and family for support because they are unable to
save any money.
Not everyone who leaves Gaza to Turkey faces the same dire conditions
as Abu Shadi. He is a father of five kids and he left them all. The
move may work for a single person, as it would allow them to feed
themselves and enjoy a peaceful time away from wars. But every person
from Gaza I met wishes the conditions were different at home so they
didn’t feel as though they were forced to leave. |