The Nofal family told me that Ramzy was named after Ramzy Baroud, when he was still living in the same refugee camp many years ago.
Israel has been intensifying its bombardment of the central region of the Gaza Strip. Hundreds have been killed in recent days, and many are still buried under the rubble.
One of those many victims is Ramzy Nofal, a UN teacher in his 30s who was killed in the Nuseirat refugee camp on December 22.
Today I washed the blood of my father off the sidewalk.
He was shot in front of our home.
My mom said I did a good job.
She hugged me and cried for far too long.
Her tears were salty like the Gaza Sea ..
FULL POEM HERE: https://t.co/TkzsuYSC7C pic.twitter.com/2878JtSfUZ
— Ramzy Baroud (@RamzyBaroud) December 25, 2023
‘We Will Call Him Ramzy’
The Nofal family told me that Ramzy was named after Ramzy Baroud, when he was still living in the same refugee camp many years ago.
The connection between the two Ramzys was made many times by his family, and by Ramzy Nofal himself.
The young man was a high achiever. Beloved by his students, in fact, by the whole community, Ramzy Nofal was well educated with high ambitions to gain more knowledge, to travel, and to contribute more to his community.
All of this ended a few days ago when an Israeli bomb fell on his home in Nuseirat.
We spoke to his brother. This is what he told us:
“The story of Ramzy’s name began with my father, Mohammed Nofal. He was an English teacher at an UNRWA school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, and Ramzy Baroud was his favorite student.
“My dad was also a good friend of Ramzy’s father, also named Mohammed. So, he decided to call his newborn Ramzy. All of his life my father was very proud of the achievements of the two Ramzys.
“My brother, Ramzy, was my father’s favorite: he was beloved by everybody.
“Ramzy has been working as a teacher in an UNRWA school for several years. He was married and the father of three children.
“He was not politically active but he was loved by everyone in the community. He constantly spread feelings of kindness and happiness wherever he went.
“He was killed on December 22, by an Israeli strike targeting the Nuseirat refugee camp. We only learned about his death one hour later.
“Ramzy had a beautiful voice and he recited the Holy Quran. He used to lead worshippers in the Taraweeh prayers at the Grand Nuseirat Mosque. People loved praying with him, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.
“Ramzy had memorized the Holy Quran when he was young. Because of his talent in reading the Holy Scriptures, he was awarded with a pilgrimage to Umrah. However, he was unable to travel due to his work commitments.
“My brother Ramzy was a teacher, just like my father, who also taught English at an UNRWA school. Now that Ramzy has been martyred by Israel, it will be my older brother Issam who will continue with their legacies as teachers.
“Following weeks of intense bombardment, no one has been spared in Gaza. The occupation has brought pain into everybody’s hearts, in every home of every martyr, wounded, displaced or bereaved.
“We only hope that the war will stop soon and that the occupation will be tried for its heinous crimes against over two million people in the already besieged Gaza Strip.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Abdallah Aljamal is a Gaza-based journalist. He is a correspondent for The Palestine Chronicle in the Gaza Strip. His email is abdallahaljamal1987@gmail.com
