Gazan couple marry, move into tent after home destroyed in Israeli war

Why not?” said Eman when her fiancé asked “will you agree to marry me and live in a tent?”

On 26 February 22-year-old Ahmad Al-Hirsh and his 18-year-old fiancé Eiman Abd Al-Aal got married outside of their tent, where they will live, until Israel opens the Gaza crossings and allows building materials into the area. For now, the tent, on the rubble of their nearly finished home will serve as their honeymoon location as well.

“Despite the destruction of our home - the foundation for our dreams for a better life - we still have a strong will and insist on life and joy, and we will be reborn,” the groom said following the wedding celebration.

Though his fiancé was at first hesitant to marry him without having a home for them to move into, she eventually came to the conclusion that it was better to get married and go home to a tent than to wait for their dream house to be built.

It is traditional in Palestinian culture for couples to engage and then wait to have the wedding ceremony until their home, often on or near the groom’s family home, is constructed. The home is the investment of the family in the future of the couple and ensures a measure of security and stability for newlyweds.

With Israel refusing to allow construction materials into Gaza without the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, no new homes will be constructed. Moreover, the estimated 1,885 completely destroyed homes, 2,200 partially destroyed homes and 5,000 damaged homes will not be fixed, leaving hundreds of thousands in shelters, tents and make-shift shacks.

Along with Ahmad and Eman’s apartment Israeli warplanes destroyed the three-story home, containing half a dozen apartments for Ahmad’s family members. The house was destroyed as collateral damage when Israeli forces assassinated Hamas leader Nizar Rayyan on 1 January.

As the family puts it though, the Israeli army may have destroyed the family home, but they did not destroy their will.

A donation from an anonymous Kuwaiti funded the wedding party, which was then organized by the Al-Falah society.

The bride sat in a puffy white gown in an area marked out in front of the once-home. Smiling women’s faces periodically snuck glances over at the men’s celebration, and laughter could be heard from all corners.

Ahmad said that his bride’s family was in full support of the idea of marriage despite the rather untraditional living arrangements for the newlyweds. He recalls the day she accepted his second proposal; to get married in the tent.

“Everybody should get married in a beautiful home, but Gaza is an exception to this rule,” he remembers her saying. “That our homes have been destroyed does not mean our lives come to an end, so I will live with you in a tent until God changes the situation.”

“We will light a candle,” Eman said, “amidst darkness and know that that candle will light up our lives.”

Source: Maan News Agency