TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An Indonesian volunteer of the Medical and Humanitarian Institute (MER-C) Fikri Rofiul Haq shared his experience of fasting in Gaza. He said the people of Palestine had been fasting for months before Ramadan due to the lack of humanitarian aid amidst the relentless Israeli attacks.

Fikri has been residing in Gaza since 2020 and currently lives with displaced residents in a school building near the European Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Fikri and his colleagues at MER-C, Reza Aldilla Kurniawan and Farid Zanzabil Al Ayubi, were compelled to leave the Indonesian Hospital (RSI) in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza after Israeli troops intensified their attacks last year.

“Many people are fasting today without suhoor, because of the lack of food,” Fikri told Tempo via a phone call on Tuesday, March 12.

The holy month of fasting, or Ramadan, began in Palestine on Monday, March 11, and in Indonesia on Tuesday, March 12.

Fikri said that this year’s Ramadan in Gaza has been arduous. Many humanitarian organizations, including MER-C, are still distributing aid, but supplies of basic necessities are dwindling by the day, making it difficult to carry out humanitarian activities.

As a result, residents have become accustomed to fasting even before Ramadan. "What is even more disheartening is that before Ramadan, they can only eat once a day or even once every two days,” Fikri said.

He was informed that the people in the enclave usually eat only boiled potatoes for suhoor and to break their fast. Sometimes, they could eat canned food such as corned beef or bread, because the price of flour is still relatively normal in the southern region. Despite the difficulties, Fikri said they remain grateful for the food they could obtain.

In Indonesia, he said, it is customary to break the fast with sweet drinks such as tea. In Gaza, sugar is scarce and expensive due to the Israeli blockade, rising from Rp20,000 per kilogram to Rp200,000-300,000 per kilogram.

“They no longer have jobs, they only rely on international aid. Meanwhile, international aid is very difficult [to enter Gaza],” he stressed, adding that the situation in northern Gaza is even more precarious.

The United Nations (UN) agencies, such as WHO and UNICEF, have highlighted the extreme levels of child malnutrition in northern Gaza. Dozens of children there have reportedly died from malnutrition and dehydration.

NABIILA AZZAHRA

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