Two images of women in wedding dresses adorn the front of a sewing workshop in Rafah, but the workers inside have turned to making diapers, one of the many essentials that has become impossible to find in Gaza during wartime. With most of the 2.3 million residents of the sector displaced due to the Israeli military attack, and over half of them crowded into the Rafah area near the border with Egypt, the lack of diapers makes life miserable for children and their parents.
Yasir Abu Ghararah, the owner of the sewing workshop now producing diapers, said, "We have 1.5 million displaced people in Rafah, and there are no diapers or anything in the market to meet people's needs." He noted that the shortage of diapers has led to the price of a pack in the market rising to about 200 shekels ($55), a steep price for families also struggling to secure enough food.
Speaking from the workshop alongside a group of women using sewing machines to make diapers, he stated, "We are in need of a loan from the bank to buy Pampers." He added that they are using recycled protective clothing from the COVID-19 pandemic as materials for making diapers, expressing hope that these efforts would help families cope with the harsh conditions.
The scarcity of diapers for the displaced living in camps has intensified the daily struggle to keep infants and young children clean and dry. Displaced woman Inas Morsi, a mother of twins and an older daughter who all need diapers, used what appeared to be shorts made from a transparent pink plastic grocery bag to protect one of her children. The baby cries on the ground inside the tent while his mother struggles to fit him into the tight plastic shorts.
Inas said she cannot afford to buy diapers priced at 180 or 190 shekels per pack because her twins consume them within a week. Displaced man Hani Sobhi stated that he searches for diapers in the market every day but finds the prices to be extremely high. He lamented, "Should we eat or buy Pampers? Tell me."
