"She sat before me. Her presence was not loud, but unbearable. She did not look tired, but ancient, like someone who had traveled not just for days but through time itself, through the centuries of betrayal that humanity has inflicted upon itself.
I said nothing. She said nothing. The silence held.
Then she whispered, “My feet and back hurt.”
What a simple phrase. And yet it carried the weight of exile.
My feet and back hurt.
Of course they did.
She had been carrying two children, a basket, and the unspoken grief of the earth.
“Is this new?” I asked.
“No, habibi. It’s from walking. We’ve been walking a long time.”
Walking. Such a gentle word for such a violent act. She had walked over corpses and rubble, over forgotten treaties and abandoned neighborhoods. She had walked across the graves of promises.
And I, me, a doctor. What could I do? Open a drawer? Offer a pill? I could not suture history. I could not anesthetize the world’s cruelty.
So I gave her painkillers. Like a priest sprinkling water on a burning house. And vitamins, why not? A placebo for the soul, perhaps more for mine than hers.
She stood, nodded, and left.
I should have returned to my notes, to the work. But I sat there, staring at my hands. Those impotent, trembling hands. I wondered if I had just witnessed something sacred or something obscene.
Then she returned.
In her hands was a bundle of arugula. Earth still clung to the roots.
“This is for you,” she said.
I refused. My pride would not allow it. But pride dies in the presence of grace.
She insisted. “It’s from my heart,” she said. “We’re farmers. From Beit Lahia. We picked it before we left. I still have some.”
And in that moment, I saw her. Not the woman, but the truth.
So I took it. Not for the leaves, but to protect what little dignity remained in the world.
She left again.
But she had left something behind. A scream without sound. A sermon without words.
And in that clinic, surrounded by antiseptics and broken instruments, I, the doctor, broke.
Not from pity. But from the unbearable truth that someone who had nothing still found a way to give everything.
#GazaGenocide"
-Ezzideen Shehab in Gaza 7/7/25 (source)
https://linktr.ee/ezzideenshehab
Please Help Evacuate Ezzideen Shehab and his Family from Gaza!!
Ezzideen Shehab and his family (Ezzideen, his 12-year-old brother Mazan, his sister Abdeer, his brother Hassan, and his mother and father) are currently trapped in Rafah & are suffering from dire starvation. They have already lost 72 family members. Please, anyone who sees this, read this post all the way through, reblog it, and please donate if you can.
Dear Friends,
I'm Boshra Daoud, and I come to you today with an urgent pl… Boshra Daoud needs your support for HELP Ezzideen & his Famil
Let @blackpearlblast know on this post when you donate to Ezzideen's GoFundMe so that they and Boshra (the organizer of the campaign) can match the donations!!
There's other information on how to help at the bottom of this post.
Who are Ezzideen Shehab and his family?
Ezzideen Shehab is a brilliant new doctor, who had graduated only a week before the genocide in Gaza began. Throughout all of years of schooling, he never once visited his family back in Gaza, for fear of being trapped inside. Still, he had dreamed of seeing them again. When he finally graduated, the need for his family was immense. But when he finally took a trip back home to celebrate this incredible achievement with his loved ones, something he had dreamed of for so long, Israel trapped them inside Gaza, along with hundreds of thousands of others, murdered many of their family members, and destroyed their home.
His sister, Abeer, was doing incredible work as a translator before the genocide in Gaza. Tragically, she was unable to continue this pursuit, and lost her job because of the violent, constant, bombardments happening around her and her family.
Their brother, Hassan, is a responsible and kind man. He was working as an accountant, and had just secured an international work contract that would have provided Hassan and his family with an array of new horizons and opportunities. He and his family were this close to obtaining something new and promising, but because of influences outside of their control, this has been stripped from them.
Ezzideen's parents are amazing people who raised 4 wonderful children. Ezzideen's father had recently retired from his job as a dedicated employee at the Ministry of Information. But, instead of being rewarded for his hard work with a peaceful retirement, he has been met with the murders of his loved ones and a life of constant fear and danger.
Finally, there's Mazen, Ezzideen's 12-year-old younger brother. Mazen is an incredibly bright 7th grade boy, who, instead of going to school and experiencing typical 7th grade antics and embarrassments (which we all know this website loves to joke and reminisce about), is living under constant bombardment and starvation. He is faced with death and despair on a daily basis, as all other children in Gaza are. I have personally seen photos of children his age blown to bits. I can only imagine what he's seen. What he's felt. His right to be a child has been stripped from him under the Israeli command. Under no circumstances should a child be not allowed to grow up; growing up should not be a privilege. Mazen deserves to live a long and normal life, one where a daily fear of death upon him and his family members feels like an alien concept.
Mazen deserves to grow old, and he deserves to grow happy.
No one, let me repeat; No one, deserves to go through what Ezzideen and his family are going through right now. Certainly no child ever should. The genocide happening in Gaza right now is the most horrific thing I've ever seen in my life. I'm not exaggerating. This is the most horrific thing I have ever seen. And I'm just an American bystander. I can get up from my screen and leave the house and be safe. I cannot Fucking imagine what it must be like for the people trapped in Gaza. They can't do that. They can't get up and walk away from what's happening. This is their reality, every second of every day.
But it's not too late. You, the person reading this, have power in this situation. You have a voice. If we can get them the help they need, and soon, they can evacuate. Ezzideen can pursue a further education in medicine. Abeer and Hassan can continue their incredible work to support their family and themselves. Mazen can grow up.
Support for this family has already made a difference. By sharing and donating to their cause, Ezzideen's mother has already been able to register for evacuation. Your actions make a difference. Your shares make a difference. Your donations, no matter how small, make a difference. I promise.
How To Help
donate to Ezzideen's GoFundMe, which I linked at the top of this post
Donate in exchange for commissions from @void-botanist (info here)
Donate 50$ or more in exchange for a t-shirt, bag, or notebook from @boshradaoud (info here)
Reply on this post when you donate to Ezzideen's GoFundMe so that they and Boshra (the organizer of the campaign) can match the donations
Reblog this post (& tag it with a recognizable tag so people can search for it on your blog)
Repost & share the information contained in this post to other social media websites (INCLUDE A LINK TO THE GOFUNDME)
Make your own posts about the subject!! The more people talking about this, the better!!
^^relating to that, DON'T STOP TALKING ABOUT PALESTINE!!! no matter who you are, how small your blog is, or what theme you post with, YOU SHOULD BE SPEAKING OUT ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN GAZA, even if that just means reblogging every pro-palestine post you see!! THERE IS A GENOCIDE GOING ON!! and as a human being, it is YOUR responsibility to talk about it. That's just what you do.
If you can, attend protests and events in your community to help support Palestine. Remember to prepare with the proper equipment if you're going to be protesting (especially if you live in America) so that police will have a harder time recognizing you
Big thank you to Boshra Daoud for organizing Ezzideen's GoFundMe, for reaching out to me about this, and for providing all of the images used in this post.
