Category: Emergencies
When crisis strikes we respond quickly with life-saving support and help people to rebuild their livelihoods.
The Gaza blockade – a personal story
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Richard Stanforth is Oxfam GB’s Regional Policy Adviser in the Middle East. Here, he shares his personal experience of what life has been like in Gaza under the blockade. I first visited Gaza in spring 2006 when I had just become a policy officer for Oxfam covering Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. I arrived […] Read more »
Six year olds in Gaza live through their third war
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Salama Shamali is just six years old, yet he has already lived through three wars. I met him just days ago at a school run by a local church, where he and his family sought refuge after their home was bombed. “I am not happy,” he told me. “My house is destroyed. The missiles destroyed […] Read more »
Oxfam staff in Gaza flee their homes
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The crisis in Gaza has affected everyone living there — including our own Oxfam colleagues, working in incredibly difficult and dangerous circumstances to deliver safe water and food to thousands of families in need. Many of our staff and partners have themselves been forced to flee their homes with their families. They fear for their family’s safety and their children’s future. Read more »
The destruction of Gaza, a first-hand account
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Arwa Mhanna travelled around Gaza City in during a brief window of calm. She shares her experiences: “The ceasefire lasted only 12 hours, and as I write the violence has returned. On Monday, Al Shifa hospital — where I met so many brave people — was hit, with many casualties being reported. I don’t know if the people I met are alive or dead.” Read more »
A letter from Lebanon for Eid
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This week marks Eid, the important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that brings to an end the Islamic holy month of fasting, Ramadan. This is a bitter sweet celebration for millions of people as conflict continues across the Middle East. Read more »
Medical staff in Gaza struggle to cope with rising casualties
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With the crisis in Gaza mounting, hospitals are struggling to cope with the growing influx of casualties. Three quarters of the dead and wounded are civilians, including many women and children. Read more »
Women in Gaza describe life under airstrikes
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The crisis in Gaza is having a devastating impact on civilians who represent approximately 75 per cent of the casualties so far. Oxfam partner WCLAC (the Women’s Centre for Legal Affairs and Counselling) is collecting testimonies from women in Gaza to describe their lives and fear under the ongoing Israeli airstrikes. Read more »
Why we left Syria
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Ayad came home from work that day to find his children crawling on the floor, unable to walk. When he found out what had happened, he knew in that moment they had to leave Syria. He couldn’t bear the idea of anything else happening to his children. Nawal and the children packed up their things and began the long journey to Lebanon. Read more »
What does it feel like to be a refugee?
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What does it feel like to be a refugee, forced to flee to an unfamiliar country and dependent on humanitarian assistance to survive? How do you know where to turn, who to trust for accurate information and how to meet the basic needs of your family? Read more »
Three years on, what does the future hold for the children of South Sudan’s independence?
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Kulang was only days old when South Sudan was thrust into existence as the world’s newest country three years ago. For Kulang’s parents, Elizabeth and Gatluack Choul, an independent South Sudan offered hope and prosperity for their baby boy. But today that dream lies shattered. The family live trapped in a displaced peoples’ camp while fighting continues to rage on across their homeland. Read more »
