The mother of a Salford woman is “beyond relieved” that her daughter was finally able to leave the bomb-damaged Gaza this Monday (November 20).
Zaynab Wandawi, 29, a British national from Salford, travelled to Gaza at the beginning of October with her husband, a British-Palestinian, for a family wedding.
Ms Wandawi and a group of 12 family members (10 of whom are also British nationals) tried to cross the Egyptian border but were denied after being told their names were not on the list.
Ms Wandawi’s mother, Lalah Ali-Faten said she received a notification that the Rafah border crossing was open before letting her daughter’s group know.
Ms Ali-Faten said: “I am beyond relieved, I feel so much lighter today, physically and mentally.
“I am very thankful they’re out, but I have an acute awareness that she’s very privileged that she’s able to leave.
“I have a bit of guilt along with that joy because I know there are many Palestinian families that weren’t able to leave because they don’t have the luxury of having a nationality that will get you out of that war zone.”
It took most of the day for the group to be processed before they were allowed to enter Egypt.
Ms Wandawi crossed the border with her husband, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and five of her brothers-in-law. Two of her in-laws stayed behind to help another family member evacuate.
Ms Ali-Faten revealed: “She called me when she was sitting on the bus because they were waiting for the bus to fill up with British nationals
“She sounded more herself than I’ve heard over the last month, she sounded more Zaynab when I was speaking with her.
“She sounded kind of peppy and she had an energy in her voice.”
Recent Comments