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A severe humanitarian crisis has been unfolding in Gaza over the last 10 months, with the Palestinian population facing shortages of food, water, and medicine. Aware of the toll this has taken on the children of Gaza, food blogger Hamada Shaqoura has jumped in to aid in the best way he knows how. His heroic labor effort turns the limited food supplies into dishes and treats that put a smile on the local kids’ faces.
As seen on social media, where Shaqoura documents his cooking process, the self-proclaimed foodie goes through the ingredients to bring his creations to life—many adapted to whatever he can get his hands on. The blogger also tries to fulfill the children's wishes for a specific treat whenever he has the resources available. One time, a group of youngsters asked him for a cheeseburger—a gesture that brought excitement to the community given many people sometimes go without eating meat for weeks at a time.
Thanks to his talents, as well as the food rations picked up by him and his supporters at the hours-long queues, Shaqoura has been able to cook everything from pasta and chicken wings to traditional Gaza delicacies, such as Fattah Ghazawi. He then records himself determinedly prepping the food in large pots, many times in rundown kitchens or with a fire started with wood in improvised open-air pits. He looks defiantly at the camera as he chops, boils, and assembles, reminding us of the levels of resilience shared by all those around him.
The blogger is not new to the world of food. Before the war, he and his wife worked in marketing, with Shaqoura visiting restaurants in the thriving Gaza food scene to later review them.
“We believed we could do this, despite the scarcity of ingredients and the poorer quality of the food available due to the siege on Gaza over the last 17 years,” Shaqoura told Bon Apetit. “Thank God, many of us were seeing success, but unfortunately, the attacks have destroyed everything. Not just the restaurants, but all our cafés, streets, infrastructure, everything.”
Shaqoura's acts are all the more commendable as he recently became a father to a baby boy, while supporting his parents and sisters after they lost their home. But even in the face of adversity, the blogger finds joy in the local youth's reception and engagement with his food.
“This has become my routine for the past 6 months… it wasn’t something I was expecting nor ready for,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’m super grateful I’m being able to do what I do and to be able to draw smiles on the kids faces even if it was for a few moments.”
To stay up to date with the food blogger, you can follow Shaquoura on Instagram and TikTok. To support his humanitarian cooking adventures, you can donate to Shaquoura’s GoFundMe campaign.
Food blogger Hamada Shaqoura is heroically turning the limited food supplies in Gaza into creative dishes and treats that put a smile on the local kids’ faces.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
He shares videos on social media of him going through the ingredients to bring his creations to life—many adapted to whatever he can get his hands on.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
The blogger also tries to fulfill the children's wishes for a specific treat whenever he has the resources available.
View this post on Instagram
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
He then records himself determinedly prepping the food in large pots, many times in rundown kitchens or with a fire started with wood in improvised open-air pits.
View this post on Instagram
Thanks to his talents, Shaqoura has been able to cook everything from pasta and chicken wings to traditional Gaza delicacies, such as Fattah Ghazawi.
View this post on Instagram
“This has become my routine for the past 6 months… it wasn’t something I was expecting nor ready for,” he wrote on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
“I’m super grateful I’m being able to do what I do and to be able to draw smiles on the kids faces even if it was for a few moments.”
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Hamada Shaqoura: Instagram | TikTok | GoFundMe
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