Basel Kafinah 28, former falafel maker, trying to feed his family

Basel Kafinah, 28, ran a falafel stand at the a-Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza before the war. But had to stop because he couldn’t get cooking oil or gas and his ingredients became too expensive. 

Instead, he started selling cleaning supplies. Sometimes he buys and sells small quantities of food. 

When prices kept rising out, he finally decided to go to a distribution center four kilometers away. But there were thousands of people there, and Israeli soldiers shot at them. He came home empty handed. The same thing happened on his second attempt. But there’s no alternative so he keeps trying. Sometimes he succeeds, sometimes he doesn’t. 

“We’re constantly shot at, and there are thugs and thieves everywhere,” he said. “There’s danger all around us. If I get hurt, there will be no one to help me – especially at the aid distribution centers, which are crowded and have no ambulances nearby. 

“Every time I leave for a distribution center, I see on my family’s faces how scared they are, as if it’s the last time they’ll ever see me. Going to an aid center feels like walking to my death. When I come home, it feels like God has given me my life back.”

Kafinah told his story to a researcher for B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, on July 1.

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