On the way to Rafah: Turkish woman's resilience amid Israeli air strikes

Rukiye Demir Salhiya went to Gaza in September 2016 to make her dreams come true.

Studying for a master’s degree in Islamic University of Gaza, she married a Palestinian man and has remained in the besieged enclave since.

“I want to share the pain of all innocent people here, that is why I came here,” she explains.

“And I tried to relieve and help them, and I think I achieved this, thanks to God.”

She learned a lot there: a new culture, new language, and more importantly how someone can strive for freedom despite living in what’s been described as an “open-air prison” due to Israel’s air, sea and land blockade.

Since October 7, Israel’s relentless attacks have forced her to relocate four times, lastly forcing her to walk to Rafah.

Now she is on her way back to Türkiye, which she last visited in 2019.

TRT World spoke with Rukiye on her journey despite all the pressures of Israel’s occupying forces.

Her story is one of many in Gaza whose lives have been turned upside down since October 7.

From one place to another

She was living in an apartment in the Remal neighbourhood in Gaza before Israeli forces bombed the whole apartment building. She became homeless and lost all of her belongings, including her diploma.

Rukiye fled wearing a thin, summer dress and a small bag.

Then, she went to one of her relatives’ homes, near the Al Quds Hospital. She took refuge in the hospital until it, too, was rattled by Israeli air strikes about 100 metres away.

After moving twice more, she made it to the middle of Gaza, where one of her relatives lived. But again, she could not find a safe and enduring space after witnessing a bombing for the fourth time.

Eventually she moved to a site comprising 120 apartments built by Qatar, as she had a relative living there.

Unfortunately, heavy Israeli bombardment destroyed these complexes in Gaza, and she lost her last refuge.

Having endured a multitude of calamities, she was left with two choices: return to her country or live in tents indefinitely.

Before coming to that point, she was exposed to extreme cold weather with no winter clothes, ongoing heavy air strikes, the lack of clean water, and the danger of fleeing through conflict zones to find shelter.

The way to Rafah

The last building she was in was suddenly surrounded by Israeli tanks, she recounts.

After that, some people started to evacuate, but she was very sick and needed rest. Some left, while others were turned away.

The next morning, those who remained tried to leave, but because she was still not feeling well, she could not afford to move.

By noon, tanks had already entered the streets; she recalls the surroundings were chaotic.

“They were entering houses one by one. They broke the door of the house I was in with a bomb and camera-wielding dogs,” she says.

She, with her husband and her travel companion, was sitting quietly without moving when the dog entered.

“The dog looked inside but found nothing. When they were leaving, the dog bit my travel companion's arm, and the soldiers, upon hearing her cries of pain, pointed their guns at us, instructing us to leave the house with our hands raised,” she says.

While they were exiting, she informed them that she was a Turkish citizen, and expressed her desire to contact the embassy.

The Israeli soldiers took photos, confiscated their phones and only returned their IDs.

The trio waited for three to four hours while soldiers raided other buildings in the apartment complex.

The soldiers loaded them onto a tank to take them to a checkpoint. They blindfolded her husband and separated him from them.

“Numerous captives were being stripped naked and dressed in white nylon. The scene was heart-wrenching, but fortunately, we were spared,” she tells TRT World.

At midnight, they were told to go to Rafah, and they had to walk about five kilometres with a few clothes and their bags.

“Warplanes overhead, tanks behind us, and the sounds of conflict surrounded us, with the sea in front and naval gunfire. It was a war zone, truly horrifying,” she says, illustrating how fear and desperation surrounded them.

“Yet, my travel companion and I tried to calm ourselves by reading verses from the Quran because we knew we had done our best, and this was the extent of what we could do. Later, an ambulance arrived to pick us up,” she says.

Her personal development

Despite all the tragedy of the war she faced, she cherishes every minute she spent in Gaza.

“To live in Gaza is to feel the freedom in one’s bones. Most people live other people’s lives because they suppose that they need to conform to society’s norms. But life in Gaza taught me to always be on the right path regardless of what happens."

“And I became more mature during the process and gained confidence,” she adds.

Before coming to Gaza, she explains how she was delicate as she was the youngest in her family.

The last time she came to her home country, Türkiye, was the year 2019. She realised how she missed her country, her family and all the people she loves.

Although she had planned to visit for two months, she had to stay for six months due to problems related to the Rafah border crossing.

In previous years, she wanted to travel again to Türkiye but needed to postpone it due to her husband’s special situation.

Her education

Although she came for her master's studies, she loved life in Gaza so much that she wanted to be part of that “blessed resistance,” as she calls it.

She remains grateful for her education in the Islamic University of Gaza.

And although she journeyed to the enclave for her education, she found love and got married.

After her marriage, she witnessed more of the Zionist oppression and decided to work on solutions.

“This motive was powerful enough to continue my life in Gaza,” she says.

With this in mind, she focused on projects that contribute to Gaza’s development.

During the process, she realised that Palestinians in Gaza had become passive due to aid coming from the European Union.

For this reason, she worked on a school project for disabled children and a psychological support program specific to women and children, with the help of Turkish NGOs.

In the meantime, she continued her education, completing her PhD in Psychological Counselling and Guidance at Al Aqsa University in Gaza in April of last year.

Real taste of freedom

All these experiences made her stronger as a woman, she says, and she sees all these challenges as a gift from God.

Now, she realises she tasted real freedom in Gaza, despite Israel’s siege.

Although in Gaza knowing that at any moment one can lose loved ones, one can live as if there is not any danger or anxiety. That makes people free, she says.