The mother of the first child with polio in Gaza in 25 years says displacement led to her son’s illness and paralysis.
Deir el-Balah, Gaza – Inside a tent near az-Zawayda town in central Gaza, 35-year-old Nevin Abu al-Jidyan sat on the floor next to her youngest child, Abdul Rahman, who lay in a plastic baby seat.
She looked pale as she gently touched his face, and fanned him with a piece of cardboard.
He was sleeping after a bout of crying. It was a disturbed sleep, and the child, dressed in dusty clothes, moved his head from time to time. Nevin’s eight other children sat quietly in the small space, furnished with some mattresses, cooking utensils and other belongings in a corner.
The once-vibrant child, who had just started to take his first steps, used to play and fill the camp with his spirited energy, but he is now bedridden.
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