Nabil Siyam (34) standing with his only surviving child- Bader (4), in the location where they were attacked, Rafah, Gaza Strip. In total, 13 members from the Syiam family were killed, including Nabil’s wife and 4 of his children by an Israeli attack on July 21, 2014. The Siyam family were fleeing their home and and they were hit just a few meters away from the door. “I heard missiles coming and two exploded almost at the same time. everyone were on the floor. When I woke up, I saw my son Mustafa, unconscious. then I saw my daughter Ghadaa cut in half, it was just the upper part of her body remaining. I did not know what to do, I was under shock.”, recalls Nabil.
GAZA OBLITERATED FAMILIES
Obliterated Families is a long-term project about the devastation and aftermath of the 2014 Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip, that left some families shattered forever.
Out of the 2,200 Palestinians killed in the 2014 summer’s assault on the Gaza Strip, over 70 percent were civilians. 142 lost three or more members, with some families disappearing entirely. But it means nothing to someone far away, just another statistic. Unless you meet the survivors. Unless you meet Nabil Syam. Nabil lost his four children and wife. And his arm. A year later, he seems to be losing his mind too – taking tranquilizers, mixed up with extremely strong pain killers. It's not easy to meet Nabil, not if you are not living in this small enclave. So instead, just look at his photo: a man without an arm, with his sole surviving child, standing on the spot where his family was killed.
While covering the Israeli offensive last year, I witnessed the loss of entire families.
In the chaotic rush of the hospital corridors, morgues, ambulances and people trying to pull their loved ones out of the rubble, I often only had enough time to get the names of the people I photographed. Hence, I decided to return to learn their stories.
The project started as an attempt to tell the stories of those killed, but their story would not be complete without talking about the fate of the survivors. Many of the people I've met still live either in or directly alongside the ruins of their bombed out homes. They have no prospects for either a prompt reconstruction of their houses or of justice being served for those responsible for the deaths of their family members. How does a person cope with such a loss?
The photos and interviews I took over the span of one year gave birth to a project named Obliterated Families – which includes a photo exhibition and a web documentary in the making. In total I have met over 50 families, making this project the most comprehensive visual documentation to have been done on the Palestinian families who were killed—totally or in part—through the summer of 2014.