Salam: The Young Girl Between Pain and Resilience

In the Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City, where the sounds of children mix with moments of pain, lives Salam Raad Ayad, a little icon of resilience despite the wounds that weigh on her small heart. Salam, who is not yet eight years old, lost her young father, Raad Ayad, in a tragic moment when the Israeli occupation forces fired their hateful bullets, stealing from her family both their crutch and their beating heart.

Raad, who was known by everyone for his constant smile despite everything he went through, grew up an orphan in his grandmother, Hajja Salam Ayad’s, home. This woman carried the responsibility of raising her grandchildren and children after losing her husband in 2009 during the Gaza war. Hajja Salam was a model of the steadfast Palestinian woman, one who gives endlessly, dedicating her life to caring for orphans and raising them with values and patience.

On that fateful day, the Israeli occupation forces stormed the Zeitoun neighborhood, bringing with them flames that burned down the grandmother's house, which had witnessed the struggles of the Ayad family. Raad lost his life during the attack, leaving behind his two young daughters, Salam and her little sister, to begin a new journey of pain under the care of the grandmother who had already devoted her life to caring for orphans.

Grandmother of Salam: Mother of the Orphans

Hajja Salam is not only a grandmother to Salam and her sister, but she is also a mother to every orphan who has passed through her home. Since she lost her husband in the war, she considered it her responsibility to compensate her children and grandchildren for the affection they had lost. Today, she embraces her granddaughters with love, despite the heavy burden and the harshness of life. She always says:

"As long as my heart beats, I will remain their support. This is our land, and these are our children. I will never leave them alone, no matter what the occupation does."

Salam the Child: Innocence That Refuses to Break

Despite her young age, Salam carries a strength in her eyes that surpasses her years. In her school, she writes her father’s name on her little notebooks as if to say: "My father left in body, but he lives in my heart." She dreams of becoming a doctor to heal the wounds of children who, like her, have lost loved ones.

Despite all the circumstances, Salam remains a symbol of Palestinian childhood that resists death with a love for life, planting hope in fields of despair, and teaching everyone that nations remain strong through their children, no matter how deep the wounds are.

A Humanitarian Message

Salam and her family's story is not just the story of a Palestinian family suffering under the brutality of the occupation, but a miniature image of the suffering of an entire people. It is a message to the world that despite the killing and destruction, Gaza still pulses with life, and that Hajja Salam, like every Palestinian grandmother and mother, stands as a solid wall in the face of occupation, carrying with her a legacy of steadfastness and belief in justice.

Today, Salam is the embodiment of a Palestinian childhood stripped of its basic rights, yet still clinging to life with a hope that breaks the boundaries of harsh reality. We urge anyone who can contribute to extend a helping hand to this child, her sister, and their grandmother, whether through direct financial support or by providing their essential needs.

Let us be the support for Salam and children like her, and let us confirm that humanity is still alive in our hearts.