Amidst the ongoing sheer devastation in the Gaza Strip, World Refugee Day weighs heavily on our hearts. On June 20th, UNRWA USA supporters and allies gathered virtually to commemorate World Refugee Day and to honor the resilience and strength of refugees around the world. As we heard from our refugee panelists, all of whom grew up receiving direct assistance from UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, we were reminded of how critical it is for us Americans to come together to advocate and stand together as a community in support of refugees. This is especially important in Gaza, where the services of UNRWA are most in need.

In this Voices of UNRWA article, Hani Almadhoun, UNRWA USA Director of Philanthropy, shares a deeply personal reflection on his connection to Gaza.

The ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has been described as ‘hell on earth’. At the time of writing this blog post, over 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, over 1.9 million displaced, and 136 UNRWA colleagues - who are refugees themselves- have also been killed by Israel’s war on Gaza.

Two of our UNRWA USA staff, Jason Terry, the Director of Strategic Programs, and Laila Mokhiber, the Director of Communications share their Christmas reflections during these tragic times.

This piece of writing might be the only thing that tells the world I was once here. That I existed.

In these heavy days my memories, dreams, and biggest fears are mixed together. The sound of the massive airstrikes are in the background all the time.