Escape From Gaza

Halla And Chahd Al Saqqa. Pic: Leigh Anderson

n a moving piece in today’s Bray People, a mother details her family’s attempt to flee the war in Gaza, and how that journey resulted in the loss of her husband and one of her two daughters.

Talking to Tom Galvin, and with 7-year-old Chahd by her side, Halla Al Saqqa recounts how they and many other Palestinians fled northern Gaza through what the Israeli Defence Forces assured them was a safe southern passage.

In what would prove to be a harrowing four-month journey, Halla’s youngest daughter, 5-year-old Rahaf, was shot and injured in the back seat of their car, the sniper turning his gun on her husband, Mohammad, as he attempted to help her.

Taking shelter in a nearby building, Halla cradled her younger daughter for two hours as she bled to death before lifting Chahd in her arms to continue their journey of survival, unable to even hug her husband goodbye as he lay dead on the street.

Halla and Chahd with Mohammed and Rahaf

Finally arriving here in February, it was Bray teacher Sarah Costello who, having met Halla and Chahd at her Educate Together school in Sallynoggin, set up a fundraising campaign for the mother and daughter.

“Being married to a Palestinian, I felt intrinsically motivated to try to provide the best supports for both Halla and her daughter,” Sarah told Galvin. “As a small school, we are in a unique position to really get to know these brave and beautiful individuals. We feel extremely fortunate and blessed to know them both. In an effort to further stabilise Halla and her daughter’s future, I started a Go Fund Me campaign for them.”

With accommodation secured for the coming year, mother and daughter clearly have a long and winding journey ahead of them when it comes to finding true stability once again.

You can help Halla and Chahd on their way by making a donation, however small, right here.