Greed, family breakdowns afflict Gaza society
Gaza’s society is reeling from the stresses of the last Israeli war, with families falling apart amid great psychological pressure.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Hajja Zakia Mustafa, 86, used to sit in front of her house under the sun, chatting with her neighbors to ease her loneliness. Her ground-floor house was perfect for her, as she used to walk a few steps out of it to find herself surrounded with people.
Three months after the war on Aug. 3, during which her home was destroyed as a result of a nearby blast, Mustafa had to move in to her children’s houses, before they all agreed to let her live on the second floor alone. This is when everything changed, and her health started deteriorating. Her weight dropped by half, as weeping and praying became her only consolation in her solitude.
“I sit most of the times by myself. I cannot get used to the flat. I can’t even hear the call for prayer and I don’t see the sun,” Mustafa told Al-Monitor.
She added that, until today, she has not received any compensation. Her son registered the whole house in his name, knowing that a wall separated his place from his mother’s house, and cheated her on compensation.
