alamals

In the heart of Gaza, where the dreams and hopes are often drowned by the echoes of war, among the torn neighborhoods, where homes have turned into wreckage and silence usually replaces the sounds of children’s laughter, there lives a little boy named Qusay.

 

Qusay is a 7-year-old boy, who was born to an extended family from Palestine-Gaza. But unfortunately, he was the only kid for Mahmoud 35 years old-The Father, and Ola 29 years old – The Mother, so he was spoiled and he got all the attention he wanted and even more, but he was always sad that he had no other siblings to spend the time with and play, like his cousins, so he became really close to his cousins that he almost felt like they are his brothers.

3 months after the War on Gaza started, he went with his parents and Grandmother to visit his mother’s family house as her father was very sick. The house was only 2 streets away from where he was living, all a sudden he heard a bombardment coming from his house’s side, he went running in the streets worried about his cousins, praying in tears that they are just alive. As he arrived few blocks away from his home, he saw the whole building falling apart and so much smoke that he couldn’t breathe and fainted. Few hours later, he wakes up in the hospital to find out that his cousins are no longer alive.

Qusay was shattered, torn, and heartbroken, and that made him very isolated and lost. He had to muddle through these feelings all by himself. And from this point forward, Qusay was no longer the spoiled kid, especially after his mother delivered his new baby-brother Jihad – 1 and a half years old, he had to become the little man who stands in long lines and fights aggressively to get his family water, meals, and anything that the displacement camps distributes.

When I first saw Qusay, he was fighting fiercely in line to get his family’s meal from the Hot-meals distribution point in his camp. He was very determined to get his meal disregarding the fun activities LIFE’s Psychosocial Team was presenting for other children only few steps away from where he was standing. I was trying to resolve a conflict between him and another boy, so I got him the food he needed to his family, and gently pulled him aside from the line to talk with him. After he got comfortable, he shared his story with me. I asked him why not joining the games and activities, he told me that the point of the game is to find a friend to enjoy it with, and I don’t think that any boy here can be my friend.  So I challenged him that he would find a friend by the end of the activities. He looked at me and smiled and he accepted my challenge.

The first day he joined the activities, we got him to draw where he sees himself right now. After seeing his drawings, we, as a team, realized that he needs immediate attention and care. We started by getting him to participate in all sorts of activities, and get a deeper view on what he likes most, then looking for other boys who share the same interests and pair him with them in other group games and activities to help him blend in, and we encouraged him to feel the team spirit, and as we were watching him participating in the group activities, we also found out that he has very good leader skills, and that he likes helping others, and doing that actually makes him happy and content.

 

By the last day of the activities, as soon as he sees LIFE’s Team coming, he would come running along with his group of friends, very excited, with more determination that sparks bright in his eyes that he will win with his team in todays activities.

Shortly, by the end of the day, he invited us to his tent to see his parents. The mother was very happy as she was telling us about the changes she noticed in Qusay’s behaviors, just within these numbered days. She was also sharing stories about how Qusay became a very active and responsible member of the family, only this time he does it with a smile and pride on his face, she also expressed her gratitude for bringing the smile, and excitement back to her little boy’s life.

Right before leaving the tent, I asked Qusay” What do you want to be in the future?”, he said “I want to be able to give other kids what they are missing, and help them find good friends like me”. He held my hand right before leaving, and looked at me with hope and told me ” I hope that other kids get the same chance I got to find friends, I do believe once they do that, the will stop fighting and beating each other in the streets, and we will all be happy in peace”.