In addition to the trauma of incessant bombing, the loss of their homes and displacement, the population of Gaza Strip struggles every day to meet the most basic needs: clean water and functioning toilets. Without adequate sanitation, displaced Palestinians, especially the most vulnerable, are at high risk of infection, dehydration and other serious health problems. The UN has called for a 7 day break in the fighting in the Gaza Strip to enable the vaccination of 640 thousand children against the polioreappeared in the Strip after a quarter of a century. On June 23, in fact, poliovirus was detected in sewage samples. Water that invades the streets and camps of the displaced due to the destruction of the infrastructure for the disposal of waste water.
“Due to lack of water and poor hygiene, my niece contracted hepatitis A” Feryal says in a video interview collected by Oxfam. “Fifteen days later, his brother also got infected. We are afraid that if we do not die from the bombings, we could die from diseases”. Oxfam together with the Association for Agricultural Development has installed 42 toilets and 4 water pumps in six refugee camps in the Gaza Strip.
This story is part of a series of testimonies ‘Voices from Gaza’ collected by Oxfam workers and managers in Gaza who ilfattoquotidiano.it decided to publish. The goal is to have a first-hand account from civilians in Gaza, those who are paying the highest price of the conflict.
THE PETITION – Oxfam has launched a petition (you can join here) For “stop all arms transferscomponents and ammunition used to fuel the crisis in Gaza”. An appeal to governments not to be “complicit in the continuous violations of international lawfulfilling their legal obligations and ensuring a permanent ceasefire as soon as possible.”
