Hadeel Al Gherbawi : centinaia di donne straniere vivono a Gaza. La loro testimonianza
donne palestinesi e arabe352
traduzione sintesi
Centinaia di donne straniere vivono nella Striscia di Gaza, nonostante la società sia conservatrice e la cultura diversa dalla loro. Hanno deciso di stabilirsi definitivamente nell'enclave assediata, nonostante tutte le circostanze sfavorevoli.
Sebbene sia difficile ottenere cifre esatte, le dichiarazioni delle ambasciate collocano il numero di residenti non arabi ben al di sopra dei 1.000. Molte di coloro che hanno parlato con Al-Monitor sono venute a Gaza dopo aver sposato gente del posto. Sono riuscite a integrarsi nella società di Gaza e nella maggior parte dei casi hanno messo su famiglia. Hanno vissuto le guerre israeliane e sopportano le molteplici e complesse crisi che hanno colpito l'enclave nel corso degli anni.
Elena Radwan è insegnante di violino presso l' Edward Said National Conservatory of Music . Viene dalla città di Voronezh nel sud-ovest della Russia e si è laureata in un istituto privato per musicisti di talento in Russia. È sposata con un chirurgo palestinese, Issam Radwan, dal quale ha tre figli.
Parlando con Al-Monitor, Radwan ha detto: "Dopo che ci siamo sposati, abbiamo lasciato la Russia per stabilirci nella Striscia di Gaza nel 2005. All'inizio, siamo rimasti per qualche tempo nella città di Rafah, nel sud della Striscia di Gaza, e poi ci siamo trasferiti a Gaza City. A quel tempo, ho notato che non c'erano scuole di musica in città e ho iniziato a dare lezioni private di violino. Dopo un po' sono entrata a far parte dell'Agenzia delle Nazioni Unite per i rifugiati prima di iniziare a lavorare con l'Edward Said National Conservatory di musica nel 2006 . Vado a trovare la mia famiglia in Russia ogni due anni. Possiedo la cittadinanza palestinese e russa poiché la legge palestinese consente la doppia cittadinanza. I miei tre figli sono nati in Russia e hanno ottenuto la cittadinanza russa".
Nonostante le differenze culturali, si sente a suo agio a Gaza. "Non mi sono mai sentita soffocata o straniera qui", ha osservato.
Radwan ha vissuto le guerre che sono state combattute nella Striscia di Gaza. Ha detto che l' ambasciata russa comunica sempre con i propri cittadini per garantire la loro protezione. “La guerra del 2008 è stata molto difficile. Un appartamento nel palazzo in cui viviamo è stato preso di mira e siamo stati costretti a lasciare la nostra casa. Quando le operazioni militari si sono fermate, siamo tornati al nostro appartamento e l'abbiamo trovato significativamente danneggiato ".
In tempo di guerra, le ambasciate straniere contattano i loro cittadini all'interno di Gaza per chiedere loro se vogliono andarsene. Le ambasciate in tal caso si mettono in contatto con il Comitato internazionale della Croce Rossa (CICR), che organizza un corridoio sicuro per consentire agli stranieri di spostarsi al valico di frontiera e recarsi nel loro Paese di origine.
Molte donne straniere provengono da paesi che un tempo erano conosciuti come l'Europa dell'Est – come Russia, Ucraina, Germania dell'Est, Polonia e Ungheria – e si sono trasferite nella Striscia di Gaza, mentre i giovani palestinesi lasciano Gaza per proseguire gli studi nelle università di quei paesi europei . Molti di loro finiscono per sposare donne di questi paesi e tornare nella Striscia di Gaza. Finora il ministero degli Interni e il direttore degli affari esteri a Gaza non hanno fornito cifre esatte ai media.
Il coordinatore dei media presso l'ambasciata russa, Tariq Alyan, ha dichiarato ad Al-Monitor: "L'ambasciata russa fornisce assistenza a qualsiasi donna straniera residente a Gaza - dai paesi dell'ex Unione Sovietica o dell'Europa orientale - dove ci sono circa 1.200 cittadini russi . Durante l'ultima guerra, 200 cittadini russi si sono recati in Russia e un gran numero di loro è tornato ".
Svetlana Haddad è una donna musulmana ucraina di Vinnytsia, sposata con un medico palestinese residente nella Striscia di Gaza con i loro sei figli. Si è trasferita a Gaza nel 1998 dopo essersi sposata. Haddad ha conseguito un master in ostetricia presso un'università ucraina e ha lavorato all'ospedale Al-Quds di Gaza City, ma ha deciso di rimanere a casa per crescere i suoi figli.
Ha detto ad Al-Monitor: “I membri della famiglia di mio marito sono molto gentili e disponibili. Mi hanno insegnato a parlare il dialetto locale e mi hanno fatto conoscere i costumi e le tradizioni prevalenti nella Striscia di Gaza. Mi sono rapidamente adattato alla società palestinese conservatrice. Questo mi ha aiutato ad adattarmi facilmente e a superare le difficoltà che ho avuto nel lasciare la mia famiglia e trasferirmi in un altro paese con una cultura diversa . I legami familiari nella società palestinese sono molto forti, a differenza delle società occidentali;”.
Come tutti i palestinesi, Haddad è stato colpito dalle crisi umanitarie che hanno paralizzato tutti gli aspetti della vita nella Striscia di Gaza. "Ho avuto la mia parte di sofferenza per l'acuta crisi di potere e la mancanza di risorse di base nell'enclave bloccata", ha osservato. "L'ultima volta che sono andato a trovare la mia famiglia in Ucraina è stato nel 2008. La guerra del 2008 è scoppiata il giorno del mio compleanno, il 27 dicembre. Volevo restare con la mia famiglia a Gaza, anche se in quel momento potevo partire attraverso il passaggio sicuro per i cittadini stranieri. L'ambasciata ucraina ci ha contattato, ma io non me ne sono andato. Questo scenario si è ripetuto nelle guerre successive, ma ho sempre scelto di restare qui con mio marito, i miei figli e la mia famiglia».
Ha ricordato quanto siano state orribili le offensive su Gaza, specialmente per i suoi figli che erano terrorizzati dai bombardamenti e dalle scene di distruzione e morte .
"Ma sono stata coraggiosa e paziente e ho sopportato tutto questo", ha concluso.
Meet the foreign women living in Gaza against all odds
Hundreds of foreign women live in the Gaza Strip, despite the conservative society and different culture than their own. They decided to settle permanently in the besieged enclave, despite all the unfavorable circumstances.
Although exact figures are hard to come by, statements from embassies and foreigners living here place the number of non-Arab residents well above 1,000. Many of those who spoke to Al-Monitor came to Gaza after marrying locals. They have managed to integrate into Gazan society and in most cases have started a family. They lived through the Israeli wars that are waged on Gaza and endure the multiple and complex crises that have hit the enclave over the years.
Elena Radwan is a violin instructor at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. She hails from the city of Voronezh in southwestern Russia and graduated from a private institute for talented musicians in Russia. She is married to a Palestinian surgeon, Issam Radwan, with whom she has three children.
Speaking to Al-Monitor, Radwan said, "After we got married we left Russia to settle in the Gaza Strip in 2005. At first, we stayed for some time in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and then we moved to Gaza City. At that time, I noticed that there were no music schools in the city and I started giving private violin lessons. After a while, I joined the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees before starting work with the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in 2006.”
She said, “I visit my family in Russia every two years. I hold Palestinian and Russian citizenship since Palestinian law allows for dual citizenship. My three children were born in Russia and they were granted Russian citizenship.”
Radwan told Al-Monitor that despite the cultural differences she feels comfortable in Gaza. “There was never a moment when I felt suffocated or estranged here,” she noted.
Radwan has lived through the wars that were waged on the Gaza Strip. She said that the Russian Embassy always communicates with their nationals to secure their protection. “The 2008 war was very difficult. An apartment in the building where we live was targeted and we were forced to vacate our home. When the military operations stopped, we returned to our apartment and found it significantly damaged,” she said.
In times of war, foreign embassies reach out to their nationals inside Gaza to ask them if they want to leave. Embassies would contact the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which would set up a safe corridor that allows foreigners to move to the border crossing and travel to their country of origin.
Many foreigners, especially from countries that were formerly known as Eastern Europe — such as Russia, Ukraine, East Germany, Poland and Hungary — have relocated to the Gaza Strip, while young Palestinians leave Gaza to pursue their studies at the universities in those European countries. Many of them end up marrying women from these countries and returning to the Gaza Strip. The Ministry of Interior and director of foreigners affairs in Gaza have not provided exact figures to the media so far.
The media coordinator at the Russian Embassy, Tariq Alyan, told Al-Monitor, "The Russian Embassy provides assistance to any foreign woman residing in Gaza — from the countries of the former Soviet Union or Eastern Europe — if she requests assistance to travel during military operations. As for the number of Russian residents and their children, there are approximately 1,200 Russian citizens in the Gaza Strip. During the last war, 200 Russian citizens traveled to Russia and a large number of them have returned.”
Svetlana Haddad is a Ukrainian Muslim woman from Vinnytsia and married to a Palestinian doctor residing in the Gaza Strip with their six children. She moved to Gaza in 1998 after she got married. Haddad has a master’s degree in obstetrics from a Ukrainian university and has worked at Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City, but she decided to stay home to raise her children.
She told Al-Monitor, “My husband’s family members are very kindhearted and helpful. They taught me to speak the local dialect and introduced me to the prevalent customs and traditions in the Gaza Strip. I quickly adapted to the conservative Palestinian society. This helped me adjust easily and overcome any difficulty I had leaving my own family and moving to another country with a different environment and culture.”
She said, “Family ties in Palestinian society are very strong, unlike in Western societies; family ties are waning due to the openness and dynamics of society in Ukraine.”
Like all Palestinians, Haddad was affected by the humanitarian crises that have crippled all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip. “I had my share of suffering from the acute power crisis and the lack of basic resources in the blockaded enclave,” she noted. “The last time I traveled to visit my family in Ukraine was in 2008.”
Although foreign embassies facilitate the travel of their nationals in times of war through a safe corridor under the supervision of the ICRC, Haddad never left the Gaza Strip during wartime. The ICRC did not provide Al-Monitor with any statistics pertaining to the number of travelers through such safe passages.
“The 2008 war broke out on my birthday, on Dec. 27. I wanted to stay with my family in Gaza, even though I was able to leave through the safe passage for foreign nationals at that time,” she said. “The Ukrainian Embassy contacted us to secure our exit from the area of hostilities, but I did not leave. This scenario was repeated in the subsequent wars, but I always chose to stay with my husband, my children and my family here.”
She recalled how horrifying the offensives on Gaza were, especially for her children who were terrified by the bombings and the scenes of destruction and death. “But I was brave and patient and endured all that,” she concluded.
Hundreds of foreign women live in the Gaza Strip, despite the conservative society and different culture than their own. They decided to settle permanently in the besieged enclave, despite all the unfavorable circumstances.
Although exact figures are hard to come by, statements from embassies and foreigners living here place the number of non-Arab residents well above 1,000. Many of those who spoke to Al-Monitor came to Gaza after marrying locals. They have managed to integrate into Gazan society and in most cases have started a family. They lived through the Israeli wars that are waged on Gaza and endure the multiple and complex crises that have hit the enclave over the years.
Elena Radwan is a violin instructor at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music. She hails from the city of Voronezh in southwestern Russia and graduated from a private institute for talented musicians in Russia. She is married to a Palestinian surgeon, Issam Radwan, with whom she has three children.
Speaking to Al-Monitor, Radwan said, "After we got married we left Russia to settle in the Gaza Strip in 2005. At first, we stayed for some time in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and then we moved to Gaza City. At that time, I noticed that there were no music schools in the city and I started giving private violin lessons. After a while, I joined the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees before starting work with the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in 2006.”
She said, “I visit my family in Russia every two years. I hold Palestinian and Russian citizenship since Palestinian law allows for dual citizenship. My three children were born in Russia and they were granted Russian citizenship.”
Radwan told Al-Monitor that despite the cultural differences she feels comfortable in Gaza. “There was never a moment when I felt suffocated or estranged here,” she noted.
Radwan has lived through the wars that were waged on the Gaza Strip. She said that the Russian Embassy always communicates with their nationals to secure their protection. “The 2008 war was very difficult. An apartment in the building where we live was targeted and we were forced to vacate our home. When the military operations stopped, we returned to our apartment and found it significantly damaged,” she said.
In times of war, foreign embassies reach out to their nationals inside Gaza to ask them if they want to leave. Embassies would contact the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which would set up a safe corridor that allows foreigners to move to the border crossing and travel to their country of origin.
Many foreigners, especially from countries that were formerly known as Eastern Europe — such as Russia, Ukraine, East Germany, Poland and Hungary — have relocated to the Gaza Strip, while young Palestinians leave Gaza to pursue their studies at the universities in those European countries. Many of them end up marrying women from these countries and returning to the Gaza Strip. The Ministry of Interior and director of foreigners affairs in Gaza have not provided exact figures to the media so far.
The media coordinator at the Russian Embassy, Tariq Alyan, told Al-Monitor, "The Russian Embassy provides assistance to any foreign woman residing in Gaza — from the countries of the former Soviet Union or Eastern Europe — if she requests assistance to travel during military operations. As for the number of Russian residents and their children, there are approximately 1,200 Russian citizens in the Gaza Strip. During the last war, 200 Russian citizens traveled to Russia and a large number of them have returned.”
Svetlana Haddad is a Ukrainian Muslim woman from Vinnytsia and married to a Palestinian doctor residing in the Gaza Strip with their six children. She moved to Gaza in 1998 after she got married. Haddad has a master’s degree in obstetrics from a Ukrainian university and has worked at Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City, but she decided to stay home to raise her children.
She told Al-Monitor, “My husband’s family members are very kindhearted and helpful. They taught me to speak the local dialect and introduced me to the prevalent customs and traditions in the Gaza Strip. I quickly adapted to the conservative Palestinian society. This helped me adjust easily and overcome any difficulty I had leaving my own family and moving to another country with a different environment and culture.”
She said, “Family ties in Palestinian society are very strong, unlike in Western societies; family ties are waning due to the openness and dynamics of society in Ukraine.”
Like all Palestinians, Haddad was affected by the humanitarian crises that have crippled all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip. “I had my share of suffering from the acute power crisis and the lack of basic resources in the blockaded enclave,” she noted. “The last time I traveled to visit my family in Ukraine was in 2008.”
Although foreign embassies facilitate the travel of their nationals in times of war through a safe corridor under the supervision of the ICRC, Haddad never left the Gaza Strip during wartime. The ICRC did not provide Al-Monitor with any statistics pertaining to the number of travelers through such safe passages.
“The 2008 war broke out on my birthday, on Dec. 27. I wanted to stay with my family in Gaza, even though I was able to leave through the safe passage for foreign nationals at that time,” she said. “The Ukrainian Embassy contacted us to secure our exit from the area of hostilities, but I did not leave. This scenario was repeated in the subsequent wars, but I always chose to stay with my husband, my children and my family here.”
She recalled how horrifying the offensives on Gaza were, especially for her children who were terrified by the bombings and the scenes of destruction and death. “But I was brave and patient and endured all that,” she concluded.
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