For weeks, from sunset, Mohammed-Sharif Alghusain and his wife Dina told stories to their two little girls. The idea: distract them from the bombs. Until morning. “It was like a horror film,” breathes Mme Alghusain, met in a Montreal hotel on Monday.
Life was good for the Gazan family before October 7. The Alghusain lived in Gaza City. He was the head of a construction company with nearly 70 employees, he says. “Our house was my little paradise,” adds Mme Alghusain, supporting photos. “From the window you could see the sea.”
Of these places, only ruins now remain.
The Press met the Alghusains at the Ville-Marie hotel in downtown Montreal on Monday afternoon. They are among the Canadian families who were evacuated from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing last week, after more than a month of conflict.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY DINA ALGHUSAIN
The Alghusain family home before the war
“We took care of each plant. We have nothing to see [avec le Hamas], assures Mr. Alghusain. And now we find ourselves with nothing. We are homeless. »
lose everything
Mr. Alghusain studied at Concordia University in business administration and architecture, he explains. In 2015, after 10 years in Quebec, having become a Canadian citizen, he returned to live in the Gaza Strip. There he met Dina. The couple had two little girls, Suha and Hedya, aged 7 and 5.
The family always had the idea of one day returning to settle in Canada. “But it’s different to be forced to do it, without planning, without anything,” laments Mr. Alghusain.
Their home in Gaza was bombed. The family, who were outside, survived. Not everyone was so lucky.
Mr Alghusain created a WhatsApp group with his relatives and friends. Every morning, each member must come forward to let it be known that they are still alive.
“Now we are afraid to open it,” says Mr. Alghusain. “To date, we have lost four people. I have a colleague, an engineer. He had just gotten married, his baby was 8 months old. He was killed with his entire family. »
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The couple’s two daughters, Hedya and Suha, are aged 5 and 7.
We talk about the deaths in Gaza as numbers, but there are stories behind each of them.
Mohammed-Sharif Alghusain
“Each child had goals, dreams,” adds M.me Alghusain.
The escape
When Israel urged people in Gaza to move south, the family took to the road to seek shelter with friends. The Alghusain had to move again due to the danger.
In recent weeks, they shared two rooms and a bathroom with 60 other people in Deir el-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip, reports Mr. Alghusain.
“You had to wait in line for the toilets. There was no real water, very little food, no electricity, sometimes no cell signal,” says Mr. Alghusain.
The bombings were continuous, day and night, hitting homes, markets, pharmacies. In the darkness, the strikes became unsustainable, insists Mme Alghusain.
We had to stay calm for our daughters. At first, they said it was fireworks. But then we weren’t able to pretend anymore.
Dina Alghusain
Every morning, when the light returned, the huddled families counted down, making sure everyone was still alive. Before trying to get a few hours of sleep.
Guilt
The Alghusains left behind their loved ones: parents, brothers and sisters. A heartbreaking choice. But their eldest, Suha, suffering from type 1 diabetes, needed care that was impossible to find locally.
PHOTO TAREK WAJEH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Canadian-Palestinians evacuated from Gaza by Egypt on Sunday
“We had to choose between the life of our daughter and our families, our parents,” explains Mme Alghusain.
Now we are here, but our hearts are there. We eat knowing that they have nothing to eat. We sleep knowing that they cannot sleep.
Dina Alghusain
All the family wants is to “live in peace.”
“We are humans, not animals,” says Mr. Alghusain. This madness needs to stop, enough is enough. There must be a ceasefire. This is our only hope! »
Outside the hotel, a few snowflakes appear. Another novelty for girls born in Gaza. Little Suha feels like she’s immersed in the film Snow Queen, his mother is moved. How does this make her feel? The little one searches for words, then responds, shyly: “happy”.
No Canadians were able to leave Gaza on Tuesday
No Canadians were on the list of potential evacuees allowed to cross the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday. Global Affairs Canada said Monday afternoon that it was in contact with more than 250 Canadians, permanent residents and members of their families in the Palestinian territory. Ottawa says 356 Canadians and their loved ones have managed to leave the Gaza Strip so far. Some of those who managed to flee say Canada’s definition of what constitutes a family forced them to leave loved ones behind. Mohammed-Sharif Alghusain himself deplores having had to abandon his parents. The Canadian Council for Refugees also advocates a broader definition of family.
With The Canadian Press