For 15-Year-old Marwa Sawarka, Summer in Gaza Has Become a Season of Unbearable Heat, Sleepless Nights, and the Lingering Scars of Disease

Living in a refugee camp after her home was destroyed and electricity from the Israeli power plant was cut off, she says she can no longer use fans or air conditioners that were once a normal part of daily life. "If I had to pick the hardest time, I would say summer, Sawarka writes in a letter to the Hankyoreh, shared with help from the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism (ADI) and the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees (UPWC). She describes her tent as heating up like a furnace under the midday sun, forcing her to spend days seeking shade outside, sometimes wetting cloths to place on her face and head.

The sea, once a refuge for swimming, is now polluted because sewage treatment facilities were destroyed along with homes and buildings. "If you swim, you could get a skin disease, she says. Sawarka recently contracted chickenpox, which she calls one of the hardest experiences of her life.

After a high fever, itchy spots spread across her face, head, and even eyebrows. Her mother could only dampen cloths with lukewarm water since ice was unavailable and fresh food like fruit or meat was too expensive. Though the itching has subsided and spots faded, scars remain clearly on her face.

When I look in the mirror, I feel I've changed and am not as pretty as before, she writes. The UN reported 9,300 chickenpox cases in Gaza within two weeks last month, attributing the rise to poor sanitation, overcrowding, lack of medical infrastructure, and summer heat.