Every morning the Palestinian elderly woman Naima Abu Issa takes care of her poultry and hears nothing but the sound of drones which do not leave the village of Juhor ad-Dik north of Gaza.
Naima Abu Issa has been looking after her family which consists of 21 members for 20 years after her husband was paralyzed from a car accident.
She lost her son and her house after being bombarded by an Israeli warplane in the 2014 assault on Gaza.
Farming near the borders
When we went to visit her she was with her son Majed relaxing after feeding her sheep and rabbits.
“We have been farmers for 40 years and our home is less than a kilometer away from the borders. Our land has been razed and we reclaimed it three times after each (Israeli) war (on the Gaza Strip) but the last war destroyed the water well our only hope there” she told the PIC reporter.
One of the many life paradoxes is that Naima had to buy olive oil this winter although she owns an agricultural land with many olive and lemon trees but the last war left only a few olive trees for her and her family.
“I bought olive oil for the first time in my life and it upsets me when I look at the destroyed water well. Recently we ploughed the land and we are getting ready to plant it with wheat” she added.
A new life
Every day Naima Abu Issa wakes up with the first ray of sunshine and starts her day with her son Majed by preparing food for the sheep and rabbits.
She walks through the caravans the replacement for her destroyed home reaching the newly made sheep pen.
“During the last aggression on Gaza I was sick and I had to undergo a surgery in the intestines. When I came back I didn’t find the house or the 40 sheep heads I had. All of them were killed in the aggression” she added.
Naima Abu Issa had a compensatory grant from the Welfare Association which includes ten heads of sheep to start breeding next to the rabbit shed.
“My destroyed land had everything and I lost it and now I lost my house and my son Hussam while Hisham is still wounded psychologically more than physically but I didn’t give up and therefore I succeeded in bringing back what I have lost” she continued.
Naima Abu Issa dreams of rebuilding her house and expanding her farm which is considered the only source of income for her and her 21-member family.
