Al-Qalam 
[Source: AP Photo]
Durban-based Palestinian student Abdelrahman Shat and his siblings successfully evacuated his elderly parents out of Gaza, thanks to meticulous planning – and a fist full of dollars, writes Ismail Suder.
Palestinian student Abdelrahman Shat and his siblings made a life-and-death decision to evacuate his elderly parents out of Gaza into Egypt and onwards to Durban in a desperate attempt to save their lives.
Thanks to his parents’ dual Egyptian passports, he was able to get them out through the Rafah crossing. He had paid Egyptian agents about R25,000 each for their desperate evacuation out of war-torn Gaza.
“I believe we made the right decision to save our parents’ lives,” said Shat, who lives in Westville with his younger brother Waseem.
Shat is currently completing his PhD in Business Administration while his brother Waseem runs a weekend catering business specialising in authentic Palestinian foods. (Check out his page on Instagram: “Palfoodrsa”)
He told Al-Qalam that his parents arrived in South Africa recently on a 90-day visa that was issued immediately on arrival but which could be extended if the need arises.
“But my parents, aged 65 and 68, find it really hard to adjust to a foreign environment, although we are doing everything to make it as comfortable for them as possible.
“Honestly speaking, their bodies may be here in Durban, but their hearts are in Gaza; they are yearning to return to their homeland, and I have no doubt they would catch the first flight out of Durban the moment there is a permanent ceasefire there,” said Shat.
He said talks of an impending ceasefire deal between Hamas and the Zionist state of Israel has given his parents hope that they would return to Gaza soon despite all the infrastructure there having been destroyed. “My parent’s wish has always been to spend their last days in their beloved land where they had spent their entire lives,” he said.
In an earlier interview with Al-Qalam, Shat said his parents had refused to leave their Khan Younis home and preferred to die than be forced out of their home. And about a month ago, Shat’s father – a top lawyer – had his office bombed.
But when army bulldozers arrived and started demolishing their home and other property in the neighbourhood, his family pleaded with them to move out and stay with other family members in Rafah.
But when F16 bombs started falling across Rafah and residents began to be mercilessly slaughtered each day, the family decided that “enough was enough” and it was best to move their parents out of Gaza, despite enormous financial costs.
The exit out of Gaza was possible because of their family’s intermarriage links between Palestinians and Egyptians. Once this heritage was proven, they were allowed out through the busy Rafah crossing that was facilitated by the “Hala” travel group on the Egyptian side of Rafah.
Here in Durban, Shat is relieved to have his parents safe with him. However, he believes his folks are restless and anxious to be reunited with their other son, three daughters, and grandchildren whom they reluctantly left behind.
“I bought my parents a comfortable couch and hooked them up with unlimited wifi so they can scroll through the latest news on Gaza, as well as make video calls to everyone back home. They miss their hometown very much, even though there is nothing left to go to. Sadly, two of our homes in Khan Younis have been turned to rubble by Israeli forces.
“Most of all, my father particularly misses his 90-year-old mother, with whom he is very attached,” Shat added.
At the last official count 27, 000 people have been slaughtered by Zionist forces in Gaza, and 66,000 people have been wounded.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has reached catastrophic proportions, with famine and disease killing hundreds. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that the Nasser and Amal hospitals have now run out of food as the Israeli siege of the Khan Younis medical centres continues to be blocked.
