Young Gazans risk lives to escape to Europe
War, poverty and an unrelenting blockade have made Gaza so unbearable that young Palestinians are willing to risk the dangers of illegally immigrating to Europe.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Illegal immigration through the shores of Italy to European countries has become the last resort for hundreds of young people escaping war and misery in Gaza.
On June 24, two weeks before Israel’s war against the Gaza Strip and after dreaming about immigration for three years, brothers Amr, 20, and Khaled, 19, (both pseudonyms) began their illegal journey from Gaza to Sweden.
The two young men took a hazardous path to escape the hell of living in Gaza. First, they crossed one of the border tunnels that had not been destroyed by the Egyptian army and then sailed from the Egyptian port of Alexandria to Italy on a ship transporting many other illegal immigrants.
Al-Monitor visited their humble asbestos-filled home in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza. Their father related their story, saying, “I knew that the risk of death threatened my children every second of their illegal immigration trip, but I was forced to accept their decision to save them from poverty.”
