Feature: Palestinian carpenter makes wooden slippers for displaced children in Gaza-Xinhua

Saber Dawas makes wooden slippers for a displaced child in the al-Mawasi area of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Sept. 9, 2024. 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. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

GAZA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- 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.

"Neither my children nor I had the luxury of taking our slippers or shoes during the attack. We escaped barefoot, fleeing the area to save ourselves from death," the carpenter recalled.

When Dawas and his family returned to the tent, they found that everything had been stolen, including their shoes. "So, my children were forced to walk barefoot from one place to another. The sand is so hot, and there are shards of glass everywhere."

To protect his children from the hot sand and shattered glass, he went to local markets to buy slippers or shoes for them. However, the prices were exorbitant, and he returned home empty-handed.

"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.

"But I couldn't let my children suffer from the hot sand or walk barefoot all the time," he said.

That's why Dawas decided to take matters into his own hands and use his carpentry skills to make slippers for his children.

"I had no other way to get slippers for them. I was so happy when my daughter wore the slippers and walked between the tents without worrying about discomfort from the glass or the hot sand," he proudly said.

"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.

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.

"We are approaching winter, and this will be a disaster for the displaced, who lack basic necessities such as housing, clothing, and food. We do not know how we will handle such catastrophic circumstances," Ismail Thawabta, head of the Hamas-run government media office, told Xinhua.

Seeing the joy on his own children's faces when they received their wooden slippers, Dawas decided to help other children still walking barefoot. He expanded his production of wooden slippers for children in Al-Mawasi, offering them free of charge.

"Parents of children in need of slippers just need to provide me with the basic materials, and I will gladly make slippers to protect their feet during both summer and winter," he said. ■