RAFİF ESLEEM
Gaza- 30-year-old Zeyin Huthut, the mother of seven, makes a living by selling mint for 16 hours a day. After looking for a job for years, she decided to sell mint on the street. She has sold mint for three years. “I pick up my children from school after I cook at home. I buy fresh mint afternoon and sell them on the street,” she told us.
“My children will starve if I don't work”
Zeyin Huthut lives in a room with her seven children and husband. “We live with my husband’s family. I am sometimes subjected to harassment while selling fresh mint on the street. I am also criticized by people for selling fresh mint on the street until very late. But I don’t care about them because I know that my children will starve if I don’t work. The important thing for me right now is to make a living for myself and my children.”
“I cannot afford to buy what my children ask from me”
Zeyin Huthut’s husband collects plastic waste but earns too little money. Stating that she cannot afford to buy what her children ask from her, Zeyin Huthut added that she keeps struggling despite everything.
The unemployment rate is high in the Gaza Strip
According to the latest figures by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, unemployment and poverty rates in Gaza reached 89% in 2022, and this percentage is considered the highest unemployment and poverty rate in the territories of Palestine.