A Voice from Gaza -Khadiza Binte Mostafiz

This is not about me. It’s about a girl who lives in Gaza. Her name is Alaa Mahmoud. I met her online one year ago. From the moment I met her I heard many stories from her. What I heard from her was the tale of true legends. She told me about the muslims of Palestine, their patience, their extreme  faith in Allah & she told me about the hardships they are faicing. I requested her to write a letter  to us. This is what she wrote:
“Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah
My name’s Alaa Mahmoud. I’m from Palestine, Gaza strip.
I’ve been ask to write about Gaza.. it’s my pleasure to do so.. but I don’t know from where I start… From the memory of wars and the crimes committed by Israelis everyday or from the worst conditions under blockage. In all cases the words will not be enough to express but it’s enough you know that five years old kids have lived three wars till now … I remember in the last war the Israeli planes launched a rocket near our home, my little cousin came to me and said “Don’t worry it’s rocket of scouting planes not of F16 planes so the distraction will not be that horrible”.. the kids know the names and kind of planes from the sound of rockets. If you walk in the street of Gaza you will find children are playing war between Gaza and Isael and surely Gaza will win the game.. That’s what our kids grow in.. The memory of war is full of events, but we got stronger and we gave great example to the world… The most important issue now that we have been living under seiege around 9 years… During that period the conditions got worse… Thousands  of graduated students are without jobs.. I’m  one of them.. I’ve graduted with a very good ratio from the medical technology faculty in the Islamic university of Gaza.. Some times I feel so depressed for very long free time but I can’t stand to this… I have to fight… so nowsadays I’m teaching students at home and volunteer in one of UN hospital… In Gaza, you will see the greatest patience… surely if you know most of the employees work and get only 40% of their salaries since years and some monthes there’s no salary… it’s like Allah fixes the hearts of people in this holy land… I bet if emplyees  of another county would bear this… In Gaza electricity goes down for long time which affects the life of every single person from students who struggle studying next to a candle or the kids who can’t enjoy their childhood, no watching TV or playing video games, the food decay in the fridges, people are living in cold without heating during winter, or boiling in summer, some innocent kids died in a fire because of generators however you will feel happy the moment when the electricity turns on after 12 hours .. you will hear the sounds like people are celebrating ..some time you will hear jokes when it doesn’t go down on it’s time  some will say Call the power station remind them to turn it off …Yeah there’s is pain there’s difficult life but also there is hapiness behind it .. That’s  the high spirit… maybe you feel sorry for us but for me I’m so much proud for being Muslim in Gaza and I thank Allah thousands time for living in Gaza.”
She gave me  this letter  before 20th October, 2016. On 21th October I  heard a great news from her, I heard that she started a job in a private lab. Alhamdu lillah! Honestly this news  made me really happy. After reading this letter of her, my heart broke. My friend Marzia read it after me & she too became completely filled with sadness. By the grace of Allah we are all living such happy lives yet we never thank Allah for all the gifts He gave us but the Muslims of Palestine are facing so much hardships that we can’t even imagine. But subhan  Allah , they are still  thankful to Allah. They are now an example to the Muslim world. Their trust in Allah amazed the whole Muslim world. It opened their eyes.
This was about that girl, may Allah grant her great rewards. I thanked her from the bottom of my heart  for describing their situation from her own mouth. At present I don’t have any communication with her anymore. I don’t even know if she is okay or not. it has been months since I last heard from her. But I still pray for her well being.
I truly pray & hope that if someday such hardships are sent upon us, may Allah grant us strength. May Allah grant victory to the Muslims of Palestine. May Allah  grant victory to all the muslims out there who are facing hardships. Ameen.