‘I ran under carpet bombs’: Palestinian scholar in Ireland describes life in Gaza

A young Palestinian student who travelled to Ireland last year - six months after the Gaza invasion begun - has described life in the enclave.

Abdallah Abusamra (26) travelled to Dublin on a scholarship to Trinity College after experiencing displacement, bombing, and the death of his neighbours and friends in Palestine.

The young man spoke on his own experience of resilience and overwhelm, as well as how Irish people can support Palestinians. 

Abdalladh said: “I left Gaza on the 10th of April 2024. I left after learning my apartment was destroyed in a direct strike, an air raid.”

Before this, he was displaced in his village of origin, and was staying at his brother’s house “as a displaced among other displaced people”. His workplace was also destroyed by bombing. 

Read More: ALERT: Popular chicken product removed from supermarket shelves amid salmonella fears

Abdallah said when that when the bombing began in Palestine early on October 8, 2023, he didn’t expect it to be a genocide: “You didn’t expect complete erasure.” 

On the terrible night, he gathered his belongings as quickly as he could. 

“Israelis started killing people, and then sent the evacuation orders. So I ran under carpet bombs. I could barely pick anything from my apartment. I couldn’t even pick clothes. I just ran with the pyjamas. I picked my passport, my laptop, a few documents like my birth cert.”

Abdallah Abusamra's textbook was found in the rubble of his friend's house, where he used to study

Abdallah found it difficult to find a place to stay with family due to his work as a writer. 

“I was not welcome in my grandfather’s house, because I’m a writer, and he feared that my writing could make them a target. I’m not a prominent writer, but the Israelis have bombed people who are not prominent.”

Abdallah said this experience weighed on him hugely, and that he could not talk for a month after. He made it clear that his family loves him dearly, but safety and family can come into conflict in Palestine. 

Since October 7, in Gaza he experienced “degradation every day. Staying comes at the cost of your very dignity. You feel like you’re dying”. He says he was dehumanised: "You turn from a human being into somebody who carries water, walks long distances, and you just degrade”.

When asked if Abdallah can get in touch with his family, he said he can but they do not speak, due to starvation. “They don’t have the power to talk”.

“All of them are very thin,” and have lost a significant amount of weight. His dog recently died from a lack of food. 

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said on August 22, that famine is now confirmed in Gaza City. "This is starvation by design and manmade by the Government of Israel," he stated.

This assertion has been denied by the Israeli authorities who have described them as lies. "Israel does not have a policy of starvation. Israel has a policy of preventing starvation,” said a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office in Israel.

Speaking on RTÉ radio this Tuesday, Tanáiste Simon Harris says more needs to be done to aid those living in Gaza: “If we don’t take collective action now against the backdrop of famine, when will we?”, and that “Collective EU action could make a powerful difference.”

Targeting of civilians

Abdallah Abusamra says that he has experienced war before the genocide started: “I lost count of how many times I had to run from school, every time Israel launched a war, we’d have to evacuate … every time I ran and there was bombing, I feel like something clicked in my head, like I lost something.”

The young man says he was targeted as a civilian in a long and intensive military campaign, and that Israel purposefully targets civilians using “the most modern weapons of mass destruction”. 

Despite his upbringing in the backdrop of war, he says he and the “vast majority of Palestinians did not militarize, and they chose education, but they were targeted nonetheless, and despite their choice, the word civilian did not protect them.”

On Monday, an IDF bombing at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital killed 20 people, including five journalists, medics and patients. 

The Israeli Defence Forces say they have launched an investigation into the incident.

What can Irish people do?

Abdallah says that boycotting Israel is the best thing Irish people can do to support Palestinians. He is urging citizens in Ireland to “Boycott Israel in every capacity that you can”, to push for the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill, and fundraise for Palestinians. 

Though Abdallah has endured great suffering in Palestine, he is hopeful. The masters student aspires to work as an academic and researcher. The young man is thankful for Trinity’s part in helping him get out of Gaza. 

While Abdallah is enjoying studying his Master's in Philosophy in Intercultural Studies in Ireland and thinks Ireland is a welcoming country for Palestinians, he is haunted by what he has experienced. 

“I have been feeling guilt since I left, it hasn’t been easy.” He continues: “I can’t go back home at the moment … It’s very unsafe.”

Since October 7 2023, over 60,000 people have been killed in Palestine.