Today Ramadan has started for many Muslims around the world. It is the first Islamic fasting month since the outbreak of the war between Hamas and Israel. And that evokes strong emotions among Palestinian Muslims.
This Ramadan is different than usual, says Kawther Al-Baz in the Asser district of Peelo. The Palestinian-Dutch woman has been living between hope and fear for months because of the war in Gaza, where her cousins live in harsh conditions. Now that Ramadan has started, she struggles even more with her feelings.
“I fast, you just do that,” says Al-Baz, who came to the Netherlands when she was 22 and now lives with her husband in Assen. “When you go to eat at the end of the day, you think of the people in Gaza who have not been fed for days. That is of course much harder.”
During Ramadan, Muslims are not allowed to eat or drink between sunrise and sunset. Other forms of pleasure are also prohibited. It is also a period of togetherness, doing good and reflection.
This year, in particular, there is little opportunity for Palestinians to get together. To her frustration, Al-Baz cannot do anything for her family from the Netherlands. That powerless feeling is especially painful in the month of Ramadan. “It’s very emotional,” she says.
She continues: “Ramadan is a month of love, sharing together, thinking of each other. Of course, we do that. At the same time, as a Muslim you cannot help. You cannot share anything with Gaza because the infrastructure there has been bombed to the ground. Of sharing with So there is no family. That makes everything very ambiguous.”
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