In a sick bed at al-Aqsa hospital in the center of the Gaza Strip sits 10-year-old Darin. It’s barely two months since her life was turned upside down. – We play. The house shook. Then land the rocket on us. After that I didn’t understand what happened, she says. news’s team in Gaza meets the fifth graders at the hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah. The young take the brunt Darin says that the family was ordered to evacuate to Nuseirat because “it was safe” there. The Israeli air attack killed nearly 70 relatives, including mother, father and grandparents. Darin and her five-year-old brother Kinan were the only survivors. Grandtanta now has parental responsibility for Darin and wipes the 10-year-old’s tears. Photo: Jebril Abu Kmeil / news The 10-year-old looks at the picture of his deceased family members. The tears press on. Suddenly she burst into tears. – Every time stepbrother asks for mum, I’m brought to tears, because I have to tell him that she’s not here anymore. We want our family back. I can’t take it anymore. I can’t live without my mother, says the 10-year-old, choking back tears. Now it is 60-year-old great-aunt Yosra who takes over parental responsibility. – She has no one else. I have to step in as a parent. I will raise her well and give her an education. She is one of my daughters now and I will look after her as long as I live, tells the new breadwinner. Shouting warning Health personnel in the Gaza Strip told the BBC that they have created an acronym for the new type of war victim. WCNSF stands for wounded child, no surviving family. In other words, harm children without surviving family members. James Elder, spokesperson for Unicef, tells the Reuters news agency that it is difficult to know exactly how many children are now orphaned as a result of the war, but acknowledges that it is a growing problem. – When a child is the last remaining family member, you have a real problem. That says something about the intensity of the conflict, and that children are the losers, he says. The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor estimated on 9 December that around 25,000 children in the Gaza Strip had lost either one or both parents. – I have met injured children in hospital who have lost everything. Mother, father, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles. All of them are killed, Elder sighs. According to figures from the UN, over 1.9 million Palestinians are displaced in the Gaza Strip. This constitutes 85 per cent of the population. During the ceasefire a few weeks ago, Unicef operated with what James Elder refers to as “safe zones” for children on the run. There, the children could get a respite from all the bad things. At the same time, Unicef was able to form a picture of who was orphaned. – In the safe zones, the children who have lost everything could breathe and play in the blink of an eye. But these zones were literally blown to pieces when the war started again on 1 December, he says despairingly. – Never give up Aid organizations are now working to make arrangements for children who have lost their families. – We know that the aid work that is now being done is not enough, says Gemma Connell. She coordinates the humanitarian efforts in Gaza on behalf of the UN. – We are faced with multiple challenges every single day, but never give up, because we know that the children need our help, underlines Connell. Over 20,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip since the war broke out on 7 October this year. Around 8,000 of them are born. Life goes on Darin injured his feet in the bomb attack. Now he is in hard training to be able to walk again. – I miss being able to walk on my own two feet like other children can. Every time the doctors change the bandages on my feet, I look at them and start laughing, she says dejectedly. The tiny family finds comfort in each other. Photo: Jebril Abu Kmeil / news – I ask God why this has happened to me. I would rather be a martyr together with my family in paradise than be injured, she says. During news’s visit, Darin writes a letter to his late mother in his pink notepad; Dear mother. You are very good. The same applies to father and brother. They are martyrs who have come to paradise. They are lucky. It must be nice in paradise. Kinan and I miss you very much. May God show you mercy.
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Unicef warns about orphaned children – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
