Palestinian-Montrealers worry for loved ones in Gaza, call for more attention to civilians’ sufferings

A Palestinian-Montreal family is worrying for their relatives and friends in Gaza amid the war. 

They’re speaking out about the suffering of their loved ones from Israel’s retaliation following unprecedented attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7.

“It’s hard to not be able to help anything. The hardest thing is seeing how their story is lost,” said Mohammed Shaheen. “They’re collateral damage and all that they’re going through is just a side story compared to everything that’s happening. That’s the heartbreaking part.”

Mohammed is a Palestinian refugee, but his wife, Razan El-Ramahi, has a connection to Gaza. Her mother and uncle, living in Montreal, were born there.

“I was born in Gaza in 1949, and I lived similar to [what we’re seeing],” said her uncle, Nabil El-Husseini, through tears. “I remember when the plane came and bombed.”

Their family and friends have been affected by the airstrikes and blockade affecting food and water supplies.

“We [received] small messages but we just ask them if they are still alive,” he said.

Mohammed and Razan’s daughters have been learning Arabic online through a tutor in Gaza for the last year. 

Since the war broke out, they fear the worst and wait for news from her whenever she can get on the internet.

The tutor sent the family voice messages describing the situation, as bombs went off in the background.

“It was very difficult hearing the voice message because she was kind of comforting us about her situation,” said Razan. “We heard the bomb explode and the next thing she’s comforting her children and telling them it’s OK don’t worry.” 

Razan says she’s fearing the worst about their tutor.

“I don’t know what to tell my kids because they’re also concerned and they ask about her and they say, ‘when are we going to see her again speaking with her?’ And I don’t have answers,” she said. “I worry a lot about how uncomfortable it’s going to be if I have to deliver bad news to them at some point.”

Family wants Palestinian civilians’ lives to matter

For the couple’s two older children, Yasmeen, 15, and Zara, 11, the topic has left them feeling isolated at school.

“I try to talk about it as much as I can, but like the kids in my class, it’s like they don’t care much about it,” said Zara.

“People are getting emails from the schools without mentioning that the Palestinians’ lives matter as well,” said Yasmeen. “It makes me very sad, of course, because seeing it makes me feel like our lives are less important.”

The family wants to see more importance placed on the human impact on both sides.

“There is almost disregard to the civilians and the humans in the Gaza strip,” Mohammed said. “You just keep thinking, ‘where is this going to go with them? Are we just going to wake up one day with hundreds of thousands dead?’”

“Human lives matter no matter who they are, where they are from,” he added.