(Eqtsad)- Ratiba Ahel, a Palestinian woman lived in Syria, was forced to leave the country to live in Gaza after the war in Syria. She found no source of financial support, which forced her to work in preparing Syrian food and sell it to people.
Ratiba makes food and sweets of Damascus for dozens of families in Gaza, taking advantage from her skills of making that special kind of food.
The doubled-refugee woman started her project three years ago after losing any chance to find any support from any official body or organization.
She lost all her belongings and properties in Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees in Southern Damascus during attacks on the camp by shelling and air-strikes. She was forced to leave the country, she went with her 6-members-family to Egypt then to Gaza.
Moreover, her husband had a heart attack which prevented him from work.
The project started by chance when her little son Abdul-Rahman asked her to prepare some food for the open day in the school, then Ratiba’s food was found very delicious and teachers asked her to prepare some to them.
“In the beginning I started preparing food for teachers of my son because they were busy, then to their families and relatives, which helped the project to expand”
Ahel’s family members help her in work, but still the income is hardly enough to cover the cost of house rent at $350 monthly.
She added that her son was not able to get a study grant to complete his study in media and Journalism despite their poverty.
Beside making food to Gaza families, she started distributing already made food packs over shops and malls.
Before leaving Syria, the Palestinian woman was in process to open a restaurant called “Yasmin al-Sham”, but her dream was not fulfilled. However, she aims to open another one in Gaza with the same name, despite the social difficulties she faces in her work as a “chef” in a conservative community like Gaza.
Her son Motasim who helps his mother in the kitchen and cooking, explained that cooking and its income is the main source of fund they have.
The Refugees Affairs Authority of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) reported that about 150 Palestinian families entered Gaza after the war in Syria but entry stopped in 2013 due to closing Rafah crossing point by Egyptian government.
There was about 472 thousand Palestinians living in Syria in 2011 in 12 camps and other 120 thousand in other parts of the country
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