STORY: Palestinian carpenter makes wooden slippers for displaced Gazan children
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: Sept. 20, 2024
LENGTH: 00:04:48
LOCATION: GAZA, Palestine
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Saber Dawas making wooden slippers
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): SABER DAWAS, Carpenter in Gaza Strip
3. various of Saber Dawas making wooden slippers
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): HEBA DAWAS, Daughter of Saber Dawas

STORYLINE:

Saber Dawas, a Palestinian carpenter, has been busy crafting wooden slippers for displaced children in the Al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

A piece of wood, cloth or leather, a saw, and a hammer are the main tools Dawas uses to produce his wooden slippers.

The 38-year-old father of six came up with the idea when his children lost their slippers while fleeing from their tent during an Israeli army attack on a nearby area three weeks ago.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): SABER DAWAS, Carpenter in Gaza Strip
"I came up with the idea because I have six children who had lost their shoes, so I went to the market to buy slippers for them. However, the prices were very expensive, and I did not have enough money, as I could barely provide the necessities for my household. Therefore, I resorted to making wooden slippers. But because I did not have money, I had to use tent wood to craft the slippers. Due to the closure of the Rafah border crossing, everyone is suffering in the Gaza Strip, and this is what prompted me to make wooden slippers for all children, not just my own. If the war continues, I will sell these slippers for a symbolic price, but for now, I make them for free."

"The cheapest slippers were sold for 70 U.S. dollars. I don't have that kind of money. Since the war started 11 months ago, I've been out of work," he complained.

"My father is a hero because he made my slippers, even though we don't have money to buy new ones," said nine-year-old Heba Dawas, expressing her happiness to Xinhua.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): HEBA DAWAS, Daughter of Saber Dawas
"We are forced to wear wooden slippers due to the unavailability of regular slippers and their high prices. I wish to return to my home in northern Gaza, where everything was available to us at reasonable prices, as it was before."

Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate after a Hamas attack across the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which around 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

The attacks led to widespread destruction of Palestinian residential buildings and infrastructure. In early July, UN statistics estimated that 1.9 million people, or about nine out of 10 residents in Gaza, were displaced within the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army has imposed a restrictive siege on Gaza, closing the borders of the coastal enclave and preventing basic goods, including shoes, slippers, and hygiene products, from entering Gaza, according to the Hamas-run government media office.
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Gaza, Palestine.
(XHTV)