View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Lovin Malta (@lovinmalta)

The internet connection in Gaza is spotty, making it difficult to keep a proper connection for a video call with Talat steady. But in between the stutters, the abject horror surrounding Talat is clear.

“I must personally thank you for your support. Below is my shocking story of how last month I was subject to genocide and lost my father, children, and wife in the 22nd November attacks on our peaceful neighborhood.”

On that fateful night in 22nd November, 2023, Talat’s life changed forever. Israeli military planes targeted his peaceful neighbourhood with explosive missiles, resulting in a catastrophic loss for him and his family.

Emerging from the rubble, he discovered his wife, children and father had been killed in the strikes. Soon enough, he found out that dozens of his extended family members had also died.

“I survived this massacre by a divine miracle, from under the devastating rubble,” Talat tells Lovin Malta.

Myself, my mother, my stepmother, my two younger brothers, my two sisters, and my brother-in-law managed to survive. All of them suffered serious injuries, burns, and fractures.”

“But now I am in sorrow over the death of my children, my wife, my father, my sisters, my uncles, my aunts, my cousins, my grandfather, and my maternal uncles because of the missile attacks. I lost in total 80 family members.”

Talat, part of a family who made their money in construction, had developed a strong reputation with his company for being reliable, honest and hard-working.

In a bid to improve his business skills, he even came to Malta in 2019 to undertake an English course, which he completed.

But now, he lives in a tent, barely big enough to fit him in. His family, dead, and so man of his assets, bombed into oblivion.

His day-to-day job now is finding food and water.

“No water, no food, and no electricity,” he said of his current situation.

“We stay in long queues for hours every day to get some food and water from UN schools. We face humiliation and suffering to obtain most basic necessities of life. We are facing harsh conditions in the extreme cold of the winter period.”

“No words can describe what we have been through. Humbly and with my hand on heart I must say this is the worst a human can face, what I am experiencing right now. These weeks scarred my living permanently.”

“The current situation shows no light at the end of the tunnel. Should conditions we are living right now remain, we all will die from further attacks, hunger, and infectious diseases which are rapidly spreading amongst survivors.”

One second planning on expanding his business, the next second buried under the rubble trying to mourn his wife, Talat now hopes for a new chance at life in Malta. 

“My life story is linked to Malta, and I consider it my second home. Now, I lay here in a barren desert, having the duty to protect the remaining members of my family. My responsibility is to protect them, establish a decent life for them, so they can live in peace.”

“I am hereby asking for considering this as a humanitarian case allowing us entry in Malta as refugees. We are in danger, persecuted and not leading a decent life. We humbly ask for a chance to get a second chance to live in peace, security, and reassurance so that we can start over again and renew the broken dreams of my family and ambitions which all were lost on that tragic night of the 22nd November.”

Lovin Malta will be following Talat’s story closely – stay tuned for further updates on the Al Hasayna family’s story