Mohamed Abumuaileq is four years old and his brother Aseel is six. This means that they have lived, respectively, half their lives and a third of their lives in war. Both were born in Gaza, a victim of the Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people. The same way they smile now when they share an ice cream straight out of the freezer, just a few weeks ago they were crying because they had been hungry and cold for two years. Smiles his uncle, Fayad Abumuaileq, who has been desperate for many months in an attempt to bring his nephews, his sisters and his parents back to Valladolid: after much silent work, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs managed to save them, since they had valid permits to give them a new life. “Everything is easy here,” summarizes Danya, the children’s aunt, thanks to the convenience of hot water, electricity, a stocked refrigerator and all those earthly luxuries deprived since the invasion of Palestine.
The siblings flit into a bright living room with two sofas and a dining table with several chairs where Fayad sits with sisters Lina, 30 and the tadpoles’ mother, and Danya, 21. Also the matriarch, Widad, 60; The father is traveling to see another relative. Fayad’s face changed a few weeks ago, because when EL PAÍS met him to spread his desire to bring his family to Valladolid, he seemed nervous, tense and anxious. Now she can’t stop smiling and hugs her grandchildren when they ask for cuddles and climb into her lap.
“The most difficult thing since they arrived was listening to their everyday stories. They didn’t tell us many on the phone so as not to scare us or because they had forgotten because there were so many”, explains this Gazan. He does so in response to stories about the difficulties of finding firewood, about the absence of electricity to light the night or to cook, or about the great ordeal of the patriarch who left home to look for food or humanitarian aid and spent several hours without knowing whether he would return. His efforts landed him on the media scene after he launched a campaign on the change.org platform, with thousands of signatures calling for support.
His father always returned, abandoned, despite several illnesses that will now be treated in Spain. The same for Mohamed and Aseel, who have already attended pediatricians and are now waiting to enroll in a school where they can continue their education interrupted in Gaza. The children clap their hands vigorously and run away, undisciplined, when threatened with reprimand. Then they sit down to listen to that new language whose numbers they already recite, or say “water” when they drink from the bottle, a luxury that was unachievable before the trip. The uncle specifies that the definitive transfer, through the West Bank, took place on October 26th, after a first evacuation attempt on the 22nd, although priority was then given to the wounded or sick. The previous time they left the Strip, he explains, there were streets and buildings where now there is nothing but rubble. The man is grateful that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after months of discreet action, managed to speed up the process to remove them from that risk area, where the neighborhood has suffered numerous deaths and attacks by Israel.
Once in Spain, they lived for the first time in the house that Abumuaileq shares with his partner and daughter, both of whom work in Valladolid. Since November 1, they have moved into a rented apartment on friendly terms that some parents from Fayad’s daughter’s school have made available to them. “Here we live logically. What used to last four hours, here is 30 minutes, children can go out to play in the park and before they didn’t even go out into the street”, says the adult, whose words are uncertain to describe that popular affection between swings and slides: parents invite their children to play with newbies and share toys with them. “We have received many offers of psychological help, people help us with everything… I have been in Valladolid for eight years and I have not suffered any racism. I am happy with the support that Spain has given to Palestine, the boycott of the Israeli cycling team Vuelta, the demonstrations, the Aid Flotilla… people have done everything to defend us”, said the Gazan.
The “ceasefire” agreed by Israel arouses his suspicions, since indiscriminate killings or bombings continue to occur, and for him there is a big trap in that pact: “Without supplies or humanitarian aid it is like a war; if they don’t let us recover, it is a silent war, with deaths without bombings.” The family continues to view their homeland with suspicion as they look for ways to prosper. Danya, who speaks Spanish well, sums up the scenario this way: “Everything is easy here.” The taps and switches work and Valladolid is a welcoming and manageable city for the foreigner, so he hopes to soon be able to study languages and enter the world of work. His sister Lina, a graduate in Chemistry and a high school and university teacher in Palestine, hopes to refine her language and validate her qualifications to return to teaching. His mother, Widad, laughs when she sees her grandchildren running around the living room or entering the kitchen in search of some date biscuits, treats they offer to visitors along with a hot homemade mint tea, which reminds them of their origins.
Fayad says that in these first weeks the details of the processing of documents are being finalized with the social worker responsible for the group. He manages the residence permits displayed and is responsible for ensuring that children have adequate schooling at the rate corresponding to their age. Until then, he adds, they will continue to make friends in the park with their cousin Amaya and those little ones who approach the new users without imagining that until a few weeks ago they were living in a war without knowing exactly what was happening and why it was happening to them and their family.
