On a cold night, Alaa gave birth on a dark road. Afterwards, she and her baby had to find a way to get to the hospital.
Every morning, Alaa al-Nimer wakes up to bathe her six-month-old daughter, Nimah. There is no running water – there hasn’t been for many months – and the water she uses sparingly is collected from distribution points close to a relative’s house in Gaza City’s northern Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood. Despite the hardships Alaa and her family now endure, she is determined to treat her green-eyed daughter to a daily bath.
The 34-year-old mother of three says her daughter’s smile is a “balm for her soul” during a time of “darkness”.
But her birth was more traumatic than Alaa could ever have anticipated.
“My baby girl was born on the street,” she explains shyly.
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