Every time the dentist and Sydney-based entrepreneur Fadi Hajaj takes out some recently arrived refugees from Gaza, he notices how closely they grip on to their copies of the Qur’an, Islam’s holy book.
“They read it but they hold on to it for comfort,” Hajaj says, adding: “A lot of them are really, really traumatised. They break my heart, every time I see them.”
Since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on 7 October, an extensive support network has sprung up to support families arriving in Australia from Gaza. The Australian government has approved more than 800 visas for Palestinians with connections to Australia.
Of the successful visa applicants from Gaza, 143 have arrived in Australia in the past month and, in many cases, those individuals have received support from people such as Hajaj, who are not formally part of any organisation or charity effort.
Those who arrive must be attached to a sponsor, who must be a family member and an Australian citizen who commits to supporting them.
Hajaj, a dentist and entrepreneur who lives in Auburn and owns several businesses, is an active member of the Palestinian Australian community and is deeply connected to Gaza, partly through helping fund a school there. His father was displaced from his land in 1948 and eventually resettled in Australia.
Hajaj is a formal sponsor for one of his cousins but he is directly supporting 29 people from seven families. “I work together with different community members, groups and charities, and we sometimes wait for the arrivals at the airport, welcoming them with flowers and toys for the kids,” he says.
He says he pays for visa application forms and for immigration lawyers to advocate on behalf of the refugees to government officials and ministers.
“And we try to connect them with services, we provide them with vouchers to go shopping, we connect them with counsellors, we get them a car and try to take the kids out for some fun.
“We even have people inviting the families over for dinner, doing anything they can to support them.”
‘We are all hurting’
Local charities have also sprung into action. Two say they have been inundated with offers of support from the public, particularly from the Australian Muslim community.
Rabih Chamma is the head of the Merciful Group, based in Sydney, which usually focuses on providing aid internationally, including to Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Indonesia and Pakistan.
But the charity turned its attention locally after it was told by the local Palestinian Australian community that families arriving from Gaza needed help.
“I started this work with just a WhatsApp group and now it has grown so much, all on the back of community support,” Chamma says.
He says a grocer in western Sydney offered to allow arrivals to shop there for free, while others have provided food, white goods and TVs. Others have opened up their homes as a place for the arrivals to stay.
“They do this because they believe God will give them more than they give in charity,” Chamma says. “This is what we believe, when one of us is hurting, we are all hurting.”
Merciful Group has so far been supporting five families, about 20 people in all. “One lady, we walked into an apartment and it wasn’t even fully furnished yet, it was being prepared, and she just broke down and started crying,” Chamma says.
The offers of accommodation are vital in Sydney where the housing crisis has made sourcing places to stay difficult. “It’s our biggest issue,” says Danny Miqati, the head of another charity, AusRelief. “Finding housing in Sydney is hard enough, let alone in these circumstances. But that is where we and the community step in, it’s how we can help.
“At the moment, we are preparing for more to arrive, the community is helping us pool our resources so we can help and house as many as possible.”
While some have offered material support, others have provided their services and expertise for free.
“We have built databases of the people who have offered help, including healthcare professionals willing to provide their services for free,” Miqati says.
Israel’s invasion of Gaza came after a Hamas attack on southern Israel that resulted in 1,200 deaths and more than 240 hostages being taken into the enclave, most of whom remain captured. Israel’s subsequent bombardment and ground campaign in Gaza has resulted in what the UN’s top aid official has described as “apocalyptic” conditions. The Hamas-run health ministry reports that more than 18,000 Palestinians have died and more than 50,000 have been injured since the conflict began.
The Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, last month said the government had also issued 1,793 visas to Israeli citizens between 7 October and 20 November.
Hajaj says he spends about four to five hours a day supporting the recent arrivals, which he says are mostly women and children.
“There’s a three-year-old girl, and two boys aged 11 and 12, and the boys can’t let go of the Qur’an, I’ve taken them to [the games arcade] Timezone, Darling Harbour, Cabarita [beach],” he says.
“The little girl, every time she hears a loud car she grabs on to me and asks if that’s a bomb.”
Asked why he is involved, Hajaj first says it is for his “love for humanity”.
“It’s partly because of my background, as a Lebanese Palestinian but also because I am committed to the cause, to the people of Gaza. These people are victims and I just feel bad I can’t give more.”
