{"id":3794,"date":"2025-12-28T12:03:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T09:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/?p=3794"},"modified":"2025-12-28T12:03:59","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T09:03:59","slug":"there-is-no-safe-place-in-gaza-interview-with-amen-kude","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/activism\/there-is-no-safe-place-in-gaza-interview-with-amen-kude","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThere is no safe place in Gaza.\u201d \u2014 Interview with Amen Kude"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sunday morning, a time to recover after Saturday. But this morning, a message arrived in our Instagram: “Hello, I am from Gaza, can you help?” After a short correspondence, we learned that it was Amen Qudeh writing, a 17-year-old teenager from the Gaza Strip who lives in a camp tent with his parents and two sisters. When asked how we could help, he answered simply: “I need food and water.” Following this, we contacted him by phone and conducted a brief blitz-interview \u2014 Amen’s English is not very strong. Below, we share his story with you.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 What does your typical day look like now, and how much does it differ from before?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Before the war, my day was completely different. I would wake up early, wash up, have breakfast, and go to school. Now, I wake up and go anywhere just to find food for my family. That is the most important thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Do you have electricity now, and if so, for how many hours a day?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 No, unfortunately, the electrical grids are destroyed. We charge our phones for money from people who have solar power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Amen Qudeh<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 How do you solve the water issue \u2014 is there enough for drinking and domestic needs?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Obtaining water every day is very difficult \u2014 I walk 700 meters on foot to collect it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Where do you usually cook food, and which products are currently most available?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 We cook food next to my tent, and most often we eat canned food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Are local shops or markets open nearby, and what can usually be found there?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Yes, there are many markets here now, but everything depends on money; even though there are many products at the markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Have you received humanitarian aid recently, and how helpful was it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Yes, I received only a small amount of humanitarian aid. It was truly good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Are there products or items that now seem like a real luxury?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Yes, there are many products, but the prices for them are very high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 How do people share food and supplies or exchange them?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Yes, I have tried to receive money from abroad, donations; with them I cook food for my brothers here and help them. I have photos if you want to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Can you move freely around your area, or do you try to stay inside most of the time?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 I prefer not to leave the tent because I live by the sea. There are many military boats belonging to the army there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Are there places where people feel relatively safe?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Brother, there is no safe place in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 How do you know when it’s best to stay home and when it’s okay to go outside?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 I prefer to go out in the morning because I go to classes. I am in my final year of high school. I am trying to become an engineer for the sake of Gaza and its future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 How stable is the internet or mobile connection?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 The internet is very bad most of the time because the occupation bombs the communication towers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Amen Qudeh<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 How do you stay in touch with family and friends?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 I am only 17 years old, I live with my family, I am their sole breadwinner, and I am the only son \u2014 besides me, there are two daughters in the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 What do you do when the connection disappears for a long time?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 I do nothing, I just wait for it to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Have relationships between people changed \u2014 do you feel more solidarity around you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Relationships between people haven’t changed; on the contrary \u2014 the bonds between people have become stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Amen Qudeh<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 What helps you most emotionally these days?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Nothing, because I remember my friends whom the occupation killed in the war. I cried for them every day before going to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Is there something small and ordinary that helps you keep going?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 I drink tea and listen to music about Palestine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Are you able to sleep normally?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 No, I don’t sleep and I don’t feel relief because I am not in my own place; brother, I live in a camp, and they completely destroyed my home and also took my land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 What does “rest” mean to you now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 There is no rest in Gaza, brother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo by Amen Qudeh<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 What do you think about most when things become quiet around you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Most of all, I think about my friends and loved ones I lost in the war. I always cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 What would you like people outside of Gaza to understand about daily life here?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 We only want the people outside of Gaza to support us and bring our voice to the whole world \u2014 that we deserve a dignified life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Is there a question you wish you were asked?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Yes, I have several questions, but the most important one is \u2014 I have a fundraising campaign to evacuate from Gaza and get an education to become an engineer. I hope that you will publish my campaign to help reach this goal, please.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nottoday does not fundamentally refuse help to those who ask for it. To contact Amen, write to him on Instagram<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday morning, a time to recover after Saturday. But this morning, a message arrived in our Instagram: “Hello, I am from Gaza, can you help?” After a short correspondence, we learned that it was Amen Qudeh writing, a 17-year-old teenager from the Gaza Strip who lives in a camp tent with his parents and two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-3794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activism","tag-dom-na-kolah"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3794"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3798,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3794\/revisions\/3798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nottoday.media\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}