Before the war in Gaza started in October 2023, Hani* (28) was working for a community-based organisation helping young people. He visited his parents each day, went to the gym and spent time with his friends in the evenings.
By chance, Hani was visiting friends on a holiday in Egypt when the war started. He became stranded overnight, unable to return to his family. He’s had to watch from afar as his family have been forced to relocate multiple times to escape the endless bombardments. Communication has been challenging, and he only manages to have short snatches of conversation with them. His mother cries when she speaks to him, saying it’s been such a long time since she’s seen him.
They try to hide the living conditions from Hani, but he knows they’re horrid. He knows water is only available one to two times a week, that food is scarce, and healthcare and medications are hard to come by. His little brother Ahmed* – who is 16 – is no longer a child playing with his friends in the street and finishing his exams, but a child who has been forced to become an adult and take on many responsibilities to help his family survive.
Hani wants to go back to them. He knows it’s madness to want to return to a war zone, but as the oldest son, he feels the responsibility to protect his family. And he cannot protect them while he’s in Cairo. But his family refuse. They tell him they take comfort in knowing at least one member of their family will survive. They tell him no one can withstand what’s happening in Gaza.
There have been days when Hani hasn’t been able to get out of bed, days when he didn’t want to see or speak to anyone. He was safe while his family were in so much danger, and the guilt was overwhelming. Hani says his mental health has been severely impacted by the situation, especially since the attacks on Rafah intensified in early May 2024 and he lost contact with his family when they were forced to flee yet again.
Hani knows Save the Children from his work with community-based organisations in Gaza, so when he saw some of our team members in Cairo, he approached them and asked about volunteer opportunities. Hani knew he couldn’t directly help people in Gaza, but he could help other Palestinians who had fled the war and were now in Cairo too, suffering a similar anguish to him.
Hani now volunteers most days, taking calls on Save the Children’s hotline and connecting Palestinian families in Egypt with the services and support they need. He also joins other volunteers in doing quality control checks on Save the Children aid bound for Gaza.
Hani says the volunteering has provided him with a sense of relief and purpose. Now, each day, he gets out of bed early and meets people and helps to support other people in a similar situation to him. Sacha Myers / Save the Children
