Al -Jazeera Net Correspondents
North SinaiUnder a harsh sun that bodies and almost dissolve patience, and along the border road east of the Egyptian city of Rafah, hundreds of trucks loaded with lightweight relief materials lined up greatly, waiting to be allowed to cross towards Gaza StripWhere millions of lives yearn for life and cling to hope.
Despite the silence of the trucks parked, their details are pronounced by human tales for their drivers who found themselves stuck between a grave human duty and an exhausting waiting nomination without a clear end, so there are no hotels or facilities worthy of human beings, only truck seats, light covers and some temporary shadows, and delicate feelings that cling to hope despite the harsh drought.
“We carry good”
Among them, Muhammad Sayed Abdel -Sabour (32 years old) sits on the tip of his truck, tells Al -Jazeera Net that he has not been in his place for more than 120 days, after his start from the city of 6th of October West CairoLoiled with dates, biscuits and powdered milk in favor of civil convoys.
“This truck is no longer just a means of transportation, but my home, my mind and my pillow have become good in our hearts before the trucks, and we are waiting for a transit that may not come quickly.”
“We cook our food on small gas pipes and share water and supplication, no electricity or bathrooms, only patience remained, but we do not think about returning because we believe that what we carry a life for people behind the wall.”
With the voice of determination, despite the refraction, Abu Khaled (45 years old) says, “We are not just drivers, we are carrying a human message, we wake up with the first sun threads, we wash our faces with a few water we kept from last night, and we start a new day of waiting and anticipation.”
“Our meals are simple; rice, tuna boxes, bread and olives, we exchange them and cooperate to cook them on primitive heat, no kitchens equipped here, only mobile tools, but our hearts are hanging from those who are waiting impatiently.”
Waiting for permission
Mohamed Abdel Aziz, 46, lives in a situation that does not differ much from his colleagues, and says to Al -Jazeera Net, “We are looking for remote places to bath with low water or use truck tanks, and temporary bathrooms are not sufficient and are not suitable for use except in the narrowest conditions. But we remain, because returning means that we leave our brothers without hope.”
As for Hassan Sayed Ahmed (33 years old), he says that the waiting hours are consumed in prayer, reading the Qur’an, maintenance of trucks, or even playing paper to relieve psychological pressure, and adds, “Contacting the people is difficult, the network is weak, we look forward to the news, so it may bear news of a near transit.”
He continued, “The ordeal is not only in the lack of food or the scarcity of water, but in the deficit … when you know that what it carries may save life, and prevent access, for no reason except delayed permission or administrative complications.”
Attempts to support
Ahmed Abdel Aziz Ali (52 years old), who is coming from Menoufia Governorate, is speaking in a tired tone. “Since February and I am here, I traveled the distances loaded with cans and aid, buy what I need from Sheikh Zuweid city, through private cars, and we manage our affairs with what we can, but we live in the hope of emptying the load and returning to download another .. God willing.”
“We need at least caravans or air -conditioned caravans that keep the minimum dignity, we live in a harsh heat that is unbearable, and we do not ask for luxury, only the elements of human life while waiting,” he added.
Osama Balasi, 40, a truck driver, says that volunteers and NGOs were providing daily meals at the beginning of the crisis, but supplies fell over time due to poor resources.
He continues, explaining that “the people of North Sinai are generous, they open their homes to use toilets, and give us their vegetables and water, although the resources are already scarce, but we need radical solutions, so waiting for a long time, and responding from the concerned authorities is slow.”
Official response
On the other hand, Major General Assem Saadoun, Deputy Governor confirmed North SinaiThe governorate is doing what it can to secure the needs of the stranded drivers, through field tours carried out by the crisis management to provide food, water and medical care.
Saadoun stressed that the local agencies are working to ensure the dignity of the drivers, whom he described as the “first line of defense” in the battle for life, stressing that the province is aware of the size of the challenge and continues to coordinate to overcome obstacles in front of their humanitarian tasks.
Under these circumstances, a rare story of sacrifice and human duty is manifested, as these drivers, who have been stuck for months, are not demanding more than circumstances that preserve their dignity and facilitate the performance of their role. While the days go at the heat of Rafah and the flames of waiting, their eyes remain suspended by a crossing gate that they hope will open at any moment, to start their trucks from the silence of the border to the hustle and bustle of life in Gaza.