Neither Israel nor Hamas has broken me: A Gazan woman’s story 

My name is Abeer Abdullatif Abu Tair. I am a Palestinian woman from Gaza, and a mother of three children: Majd, Nabila and Dana, my youngest. 

Before the devastating war on the Gaza Strip, I lived a normal life. I used to wake up early with energy, prepare breakfast, and get my children ready for school, then organize my house. I loved taking care of my flowers and making myself a cup of coffee before starting my day. I took care of my skin, wore cosmetics, and had a wardrobe of elegant clothes. 

I spent a lot of time checking job websites, hoping to find a job that used my degree in English language and teaching methods from Al-Aqsa University. Before each interview,  I prepared my documents and reviewed my CV, entering each one saying to myself, “Maybe this time”.  

There was no explicit rejection, but over time, I began to understand why I never got these jobs. The problem was not my language, my degree, or my ability to work. The problem was that I did not belong to political party (Hamas), nor did I have connections or influence. 

My husband Ahmed worked at MAMID a French organization which supports people with disabilities, but the organisation was shut down when it resisted a Hamas takeover.  

In Gaza, anyone who refuses to obey Hamas is classified as an enemy, so Ahmed became a target. He was falsely accused of collaborating with Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.  

There was no trial, but he was detained and subjected to physical and psychological torture multiple times. He returned home exhausted, his body bearing marks of beatings, and his eyes filled with shock and fear. He did not like to talk about what happened, but his silence spoke volumes.