Brazilians in Gaza are struggling to find water and food
Brazilians in the Gaza Strip reported news again. On Friday (27), communications in Gaza were disrupted following intense bombings. The silence lasted until this Saturday (28).
After hours of no contact, the Fantástico team spoke to some of them to find out what the situation is today at the border with Egypt. The biggest concern is the lack of food and water. Today 34 people are waiting to be repatriated to Brazil.
In the morning, Hasan Rabee, one of the Brazilians in Gaza, spoke to the Fantástico team again. He, who lives in Khan Yunis, was only able to make the call thanks to a cell phone chip he had from Brazil.
“The bombing has become much worse. If something happens, we can’t call for help,” said Hasan.
This Sunday morning (29), Hasan sent a video in which he said that he managed to find water for sale in the city.
“After two days we managed to find water. Mineral water. We bought two bags and I think it’s enough for three or four days.”
This Sunday (29) Fantástico spoke to Hasan again. It took nine attempts before he could answer.
“In the water, each bottle costs 2 shekels. About 13 reais, half a liter. There’s another war going on here. A war for food and water.”
Hasan also talked about how food prices are much more expensive.
“It’s not easy, we paid more than ten times the normal price for the gasoline we bought. I paid about 250 shekels for gas. In reais it is 309 reais.”
The biggest wish? Go back to Brazil. “We hope to return to São Paulo soon, that’s what we hope for.”
Search for food and water
The incoming images show the everyday life of the people in the area. There are many people on the street looking for supplies. There are queues in front of shops and also to get water.
Even before the communication breakdown, the documents received showed a worrying scenario. This is reported by Shahed AlBanna.
“All the refrigerators had chicken, they had fish, they had meat, but now there are none because there is no electricity. No open borders for food imports. Everything is empty, people.”
“Even the vegetables and fruit, everything is gone. This cupboard here was full of food three days ago, with groceries, now it’s empty.”
Shahed AlBanna and Ahmed Alajrami live in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, in a house very close to the border with Egypt. They are part of a group of 34 people awaiting repatriation to Brazil.
Finding food and essentials requires traveling around the city, braving queues and putting yourself in danger.
Last week, Brazil’s ambassador to Palestine, Alessandro Candeas, advised Brazilians to stock up on food. The diplomatic mission sends money to purchase the items, but the big difficulty is finding these supplies.
In a statement, Itamaraty said that Brazil’s representative office in Ramalá was in constant contact with groups of Brazilians in both cities and that they were guaranteed access to water and food for the next few days. He also said that there is no forecast as to when it will be possible to remove them from the region. Negotiations over the exit from Gaza are ongoing.
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