It’s not unusual for Al-Yazji Bakery, in the heart of Gaza City, to have long lines of people stretching around as they wait to buy bread. But today, only a few were there, all watching a young man working the ovens with a bandaged eye.
The youth, hardly 19 years old, stood in his usual baking spot, his wound obvious to onlookers, along with the loss of his eyesight. Al-Yazji’s owner, knowing the danger of being killed in the midst of Israeli’s debilitating attacks on the Strip, kept the bakery open because he insists that people need bread.
The young man from the Shuja’ya neighborhood located on the East side risks his life to travel to the West side of Gaza to ensure that people have something to eat. During his return home one night, when a shell hit a building near him, shrapnel hit his eye. He was taken to the hospital, requiring immediate surgery. The very next morning, he returned to the bakery to work.
When asked why he did not take a leave to rest and recover, he replies, “I don’t want people to wait for bread. I don’t need to rest.” The young man shares a soft smile, and his hope for his brothers’ future, “to go back to school after this ends. I want to work so that I can provide them with what they need for their education.”