The new refugee camp sits on the top of the hill that is Um Nasser, north Gaza. Upon entering the camp, just to the right, one can find Tent Number 1, and in this new tent, the Abu Atek family; a different group of people to those before 27 March 2007.
Salem Abu Atek, 42 years old and his wife, along with his sister in-law and 10 children recall with horror the images of death that emerged from the flooded sewage that day. The sewage poured from a nearby hill, destroying the town's infrastructure and killing and displacing hundreds of refugees in one of the poorest areas of the Gaza Strip.
Salem Abu Atek said "I was not home when the catastrophe happened, but I heard about it on one of the local stations, I felt devastated. I felt as those all catastrophes were somehow targeted at me. This is not the first time I have suffered in my life". He added, "I returned back to my neighbourhood and found people giving me their condolences for losing my mother and my little son and the destruction of both my house and my life."
He continued saying "my family and I used to live in Al-Sheikh Zayed city. Then I moved with my brothers to Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza where I built a house. Only God knows how the Israelis could destroy my house totally during the incursions of 2003. I was then forced to move to the Bedouin village of Um Nasser to build a simple house there."
His wife Aziza said "I heard people screaming and running outside, I was carrying my son close to my chest. I saw an enormous flow of water coming towards me. I tried to run away to escape, but the water kept following me. I fell to the ground. I was unable to resist the current and the sewage took away my little son. I became crazy trying to look for him. Finally the neighbours took me away from the running sewage worrying for my life." She added, "I cannot believe that I have lost my little boy. I always go to the same spot where I lost him. I hate this place and I really want to leave; I cannot handle the fact that this place is the reason for my life becoming a lasting misery."
Nawal, who is 16 years old said, "the height of the sewage reached more than two meters. We were running and the water kept following us until my sister, Huda and I managed to get on top of a sandy hill until a bulldozer came and rescued us."
Mahdi, Salem's brother said "I hurried to the place the moment I heard what was happening. I tried to get my family out and I succeeded in assisting some of them. Suddenly, I remembered my mother, and refused to leave regardless of the high rising levels of sewage. I tried and tried to look for her, I was crying, but deep inside I was screaming because I realized, there and then, that I would never see her again."
"UNRWA provided us with tents, kitchen equipment and mattresses" Huda said. "There are also daily assessments of our situation by UNRWA, but this is not enough."
Huda is asking UNRWA to get her and her family out of the camp: "the cold weather at night is killing us, mosquitoes and insects are deadly and nasty. The smell of the place is unbearable and worms are coming out of the ground in huge numbers." She went on to say: "three of my brothers are sick and their condition is deteriorating. UNRWA is trying its best, but the situation here is worsening, and we need to leave – it doesn't even matter where. The most important thing is that we get to leave the death and destruction surrounding us."
According to Mohammed Abu-Kamar, UNRWA's Camp Director, the new camp consists of 332 tents sheltering 2147 people. All are in great need of assistance.
"People here have lost everything. Disease has begun to take hold due to the lack of basic facilities. The only assistance is provided by UNRWA and a couple of other humanitarian organisations."
Abu-Kamar says that UNRWA is supervising the camp and that there are groups working closely with the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Environment, and offering psychological support."
The camp is providing portable toilet facilities and that there are efforts to improve lighting in order to enable residents to achieve some kind of normality and to extend the working hours of humanitarian teams.
Many of the camp's residents are suffering from trauma and shock. UNRWA is very concerned about this and has a team working on physiological support. This team is working day and night trying to ease the effects of the disaster in which the resident are forced to live.
Abu-Kamar adds that many people express their concerns regarding their future; they do not want to go back as they believe there is a threat of a repeat catastrophe.
People have lost everything they own, their money, their cattle. Most of those affected are UNRWA registered refugees.
Abu-Kamar confirms that UNRWA is trying, through its ongoing intensive efforts, to help the residents of the area.
"We are working from first thing in the morning to very last thing at night. We are living with these people and sharing their situation, trying our best to help them. The UNRWA team is working here to assure the continuity of life in this place."
