@msrachelforlittles: Talking about being with Rahaf, a 3 year old double amputee from Gaza and her mama, Israa, who are separated from their brothers and dad who are still in Gaza. One minute I was pretending to be bunnies with Rahaf and the next minute I was video chatting with her two adorable, young brothers in Gaza, as her mom, Israa, held the phone up for me. I watched Israa look at them proudly, like I look at my son. It was a drastic snap back into reality. I imagined myself holding the phone in the US with my daughter, now a double amputee from an airstrike, away from my son in Gaza, unable to help him. I felt like I was going to throw up and came back into the moment. “I hope to meet you one day!” I happily said, in my classic Ms Rachel voice but with tears in my eyes.  Israa tells me that they no longer eat while video chatting with her sons. Her sons are so hungry and have so little food. They look about 5 and 7 years old. About my son’s age. “Is there anything I can do to help her boys get here?” I asked another mom, who is also Palestinian and was translating for us. Tears streamed down her face. She said she is so touched that I want to help but nothing can be done. I flash back to a moment on a zoom when she also cried and said “Thank you for seeing our children as human.”  I ask Israa what she did for work. She answers that she was a teacher and taught math. I think about how Israa and I are both teachers. We both love our children with all of our hearts. We want the same thing for them. But my son will have dinner tonight, a story and snuggle with me, school in the morning… and hers won’t. If the situation was the other way around, what would I hope Israa would do for me? #gaza

Ms Rachel

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Thursday 29 May 2025 03:25:28 GMT