ABU JABAL

Palestinians have been suffering from the woes and consequences of the genocide they have been subjected to for nearly two years. The harshest of these woes is displacement, forced to leave their homes, and the journey of suffering begins, living in tents, schools, hospitals, on sidewalks, and amidst the rubble of cities. More than two million people have experienced this at least once, and in some cases, twenty times, like the case of Umm Sidra, the brave and resilient woman whose story we tell in this short film. It's not just about leaving home, trying to create a suitable living environment, struggling to provide food and water, and dealing with insects and rats that tents offer no protection from, in addition to the overcrowding resulting from the limited camping areas and displacement. The loss can also extend to include the loss of people, places, and memories, and dealing with a new reality with a body and mind burdened by worries and tragedy. This is what happened to Tahani and her daughter Sidra, who embody the suffering of two million displaced people, a suffering measured by the minute, not the day, due to the severity and difficulty of life. But despite the long and arduous journey and 15 months of displacement, the dream of returning home, or part of it or even its rubble, remains present in the souls of all those who were deprived of their homes and slept on the sidewalks and behind pieces of cloth, trying to hide from the shrapnel of the ongoing bombing, but without success. The dream of returning to the only place that provides reassurance and stability, and this is exactly what Tahani went to search for when she had the opportunity, but like all the people of the Gaza Strip, she found their cities and villages razed to the ground. The journey of return gives renewed hope to everyone who has lost hope of returning to their homes one day, anywhere in the world. However, it reveals the ugly face of return: the fact that nothing will return as it was, and that the past is now only in memories, with all its elements. However, return remains an inherent right for every human being on the earth.