Meet the Atawna Family

Unemployed in Gaza

AL-NUSAIRAT, GAZA STRIP - Arar Mohamad Atawna (R), 60, an unemployed Palestinian man, stands with eight of his twelve children in their home in Al-Nusairat refugee camp August 13, 2007 in Al-Nusairat, Gaza Strip. (Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images)

Arar Mohamad Atawna (L), 60, stands with four of his twelve children in their home in Al-Nusairat refugee camp.

Slesea Ata Atawna (2nd-R), 40, sits with her children Asma (R), 2, Eman (2-L), 5, and Moaaz (3rd-L), 3, three of her twelve children, while her husband, Arar Mohamad Atawna (R), 60, (L), turns on an old fan in their home in Al-Nusairat refugee camp in Al-Nusairat, Gaza Strip.


Slesea Ata Atawna (L), wife of Arar Mohamad Atawna, makes tea in the kitchen with Bara'a (R), 5, and Moa'az, 3, two of her twelve children at their small home.

The Atawna family counts on aid from UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) and the local Nour Almarefa charitable organization. Unemployment could rise to 80 percent among workers in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian source in the Ministry of Labour said.