Deir el-Balah, Gaza – Earlier than October 7, Saadi Hassan Sulieman Baraka, nicknamed Abu Jawad, had a routine.
He would pray the daybreak prayer, have dukkah and zaatar with olive oil for breakfast, after which head east of Deir el-Balah to are inclined to his palm and olive timber. No extra.
The 64-year-old is an Islamic undertaker, a job he has accomplished for many years earlier than Israel’s struggle on Gaza broke out. Now, the Palestinian father of 10 and grandfather of 116 is working lengthy hours, burying extra individuals a day than he would ever have thought attainable.
Tranquility misplaced
Abu Jawad is likely one of the first residents of Deir el-Balah refugee camp in central Gaza, the place he lives in a small home together with his spouse and 104-year-old mom.
He is a straightforward, vibrant, beneficiant man generally known as “Deir el-Balah’s Heartbeat”, and he feels the disruption of his tranquil life very deeply, mentally and bodily.
“I’ve misplaced 30kg (66lb), I’m not in a position to sleep at night time, or eat, after my burials. The pictures I see are … pure horror. They gained’t depart my thoughts.”
“I’ve buried about 10 occasions extra individuals throughout this struggle than I did throughout my whole 27 years as an undertaker. The least was 30 individuals and probably the most was 800. Since October 7, I’ve buried greater than 17,000 individuals.
“Every single day, the cemetery is stuffed with individuals crying over their beloved’s graves or by their our bodies as they wait to be buried,” Abu Jawad mentioned.
“Now, my life is that this,” Abu Jawad says. “I work on the cemetery from 6am to 6pm, typically longer. I put together shrouds, construct graves, lead funeral prayers, mourn, and bury.
“There are 4 displaced males from Khan Younis who assist me. What we do is voluntary, we’ve been supplied cash, meals, and help, however we don’t need something besides our reward from God and mercy for the martyrs we bury day by day.
“The truth that nearly all of our funerals are mass is completely heartbreaking; most of them included households worn out. We put together large household graves within the expectation of a bloodbath. We solely have two cemeteries in Deir el-Balah; one is now utterly full, and the opposite is operating out of area.”
‘We’re the useless’
On the day when a brief ceasefire started in November, Abu Jawad remembers having to bury 800 individuals, largely youngsters.
“We collected them in items, their our bodies so riddled with holes it was like Israeli snipers used them for goal follow. Others have been crushed like … like a boiled potato and plenty of had large facial burns.
“We couldn’t actually inform one individual’s physique from the opposite, however we did our greatest. We made one large deep grave, most likely 10 metres (30 ft) deep, and buried them collectively.
“Usually we are able to write the identify of the deceased on their shroud, and their family members can come pray for them. However these 800 had no family members to go to them,” Abu Jawad chokes up on the painful reminiscence.
He goes on to explain how he has to nearly intentionally shut off his feelings so he can full his day by day duties of offering consolation for households as he buries their family members.
“For me, these killed are nonetheless alive and we’re the useless as a result of we’re dying slowly. There’s no technique of life right here; no water, no meals, no electrical energy, no peace, nothing in any respect. Is that this a life?
“Practically daily, I see somebody who doesn’t depart their beloved’s grave. I depart and are available again simply to see them nonetheless sobbing for his or her deep loss.”
For a household to deliver their useless to the cemetery is just not a simple job. There have been quite a few stories of individuals burying their useless of their yards as a result of they might not enterprise out into the road with the physique.
“It takes days, every week, weeks, for a household to herald their family members to the cemetery. Generally it’s as a result of there have been no instruments to get our bodies out of the rubble of a destroyed residence, typically it’s as a result of they’ll’t discover shrouds or the rest to wrap the our bodies in.
“I’ve buried 67 of my household; the toughest was my cousins, who I used to be very near. Their our bodies have been destroyed, they have been in items. I didn’t recognise any of them.
“Regardless of the dimensions of loss and horror I see daily, I can’t cease and by no means will.
“Cease this genocide! We wish a peaceable life. I wish to depart and go residence safely daily, not battling hunger and struggle on the identical time.”
