"After a night of relentless rain, Arafat al-Ghandour and his wife, Nour, finally exhaled in relief as the morning sun emerged, if only briefly, over the soaked displacement camp. The couple, parents of five, live in a worn tent riddled with holes. They spent the night battling water pouring in from every direction. Arafat, 39, shares the cramped space, no larger than eight square metres (86sq feet), with 15 family members, including his elderly parents, his sister and her family."
"All our clothes were soaked. We have nothing else. Even our blankets and the children's clothes were drenched. I took the kids outside immediately just to dry off a little. Nour described the panic of waking up to find water pouring into the tent. My children were asleep and soaked. I started waking them one by one so they wouldn't get even more drenched, she said. This isn't living."
Families displaced in Deir el-Balah live in severely overcrowded tents that leak and flood during storms. One family of 15 occupies an eight-square-metre tent, forcing multiple generations into a single cramped space. Heavy rain soaks clothes, blankets and belongings, leaving children and adults drenched and without spare supplies. Inadequate shelter materials require constant repairs using rags and plastic bags, and storms increase anxiety, sleeplessness and health risks. Repeated appeals for assistance have failed to improve conditions, contributing to a sense of despair. Winter and worsening weather amplify hardship and the lack of durable housing.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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