My name is Alaa, I am 36 years old and from Gaza. I am a journalist and worked in Gaza until I was seriously injured in an Israeli airstrike in 2008. My head was hit, and since then I have suffered from chronic pain and ongoing health issues. I underwent multiple surgeries in Gaza, but none were successful. My life changed forever.
In search of better medical care, I first traveled to Egypt, and later to Turkey, where I tried new operations. Nothing truly helped. The pain remained, and the medication began to damage my kidneys. The treatments were also extremely expensive. In 2022, I decided to travel to Europe in the hope of finding healing. Through Germany, I arrived in Belgium, where I applied for asylum.
In Ghent, I finally received medical help I hadn’t found in all those years. I underwent two surgeries on my head. While I am grateful for the care, I developed epilepsy as a result of the treatment, and my health remains poor. I can barely work: I tried factory and logistics jobs, but I fainted on the job and had to quit each time.
Still, I kept going. I had to support my family in Gaza — my parents, wife, and daughter — and repay a friend who had loaned me money to come to Europe. Every bit of income was essential. I eventually found temporary work in cleaning, but even that became too heavy.
In July 2023, I was finally granted refugee status and started the family reunification process. But in October, the war in Gaza began. At that time, my wife and daughter were in Rafah. In June 2024, they were killed in an airstrike. My world collapsed...
Since then, I have suffered from severe panic attacks, sleeplessness, and mental exhaustion. I take medication for epilepsy, anxiety, and just to be able to sleep. My heart is broken, but I still hope that I will one day see my parents and brothers again — that they will survive this war and be able to leave Gaza.
Belgium has given me opportunities I never found elsewhere. I am grateful for the medical care, for the calm, for Ghent — a city where I feel safe. But my life is divided: one part of me is here, the other remains among the ruins of Gaza.
Life here has changed completely — before the war and after. I used to try to live a normal life with my Belgian friends, who knew about my medical condition. We went to bars, sat in parks, walked through the city center... But since the war began, everything is different. I follow the news 24/7. I can’t stop.
Of course, I hope the war ends soon, but as we can see, that won’t happen quickly. It will take time. Still, I hope — and I pray to God — that peace will come, that the war will end soon so I can see my family outside of Gaza, that the borders will reopen, and that I can start a new life in a safe place. I hope Belgium can help bring my family here — my father, my mother, my brothers... Seeing my family again is now my greatest dream.