Umm Khaled Tawash: A Sixty-Year-Old Dreams of Seeing the Sun and People After a Year of Isolation

Umm Khaled Tawash, a sixty-year-old displaced woman in Gaza, lost her wheelchair over a year ago and has become confined to the walls of Khalil al-Wazir School, dreaming of going out and seeing the sun and people. She suffers from severe obesity and glandular problems, relies on her unmarried son for daily care, and needs a wheelchair to regain some of her independence.

Umm Khaled Tawash, a sixty-year-old displaced woman in Gaza, lost her wheelchair over a year ago and has become confined to the walls of Khalil al-Wazir School, where she was forcibly displaced. She dreams of going out and seeing the sun and people, after having been able to move with the help of the chair that was her window to the world. She has suffered from severe obesity for more than thirty years, as well as glandular problems, and her weight once reached about 162 kilograms. She depends on her unmarried son, who lives with her, for daily care, while another son lives in the south. She needs help with hygiene and body care, and suffers from skin problems due to remaining in one position. The wheelchair represents a means for her to regain independence, and may be the door through which she returns to life.