If there's anyone who suffers the most amid wars in any country are the women and children of no fault of their own. While the fear of death and injuries loom over Gaza amid the war with Israel, and the uncertainties grow social tension, a little 10-year-old girl has become a ray of hope for many. Renad Ataullah from Deir el-Balah, a child influencer from the Palestinian city is inspiring people through her social media videos. With more than 800,000 followers on Instagram, Renad regularly posts her cute cookery videos. Her infectious smile and conversation with her followers show the resilience and innocence of little minds amidst the adverse conditions of the refugees. In fact, in most of her videos from the last few months, Renad is seen settled in a refugee camp, yet smiling and spreading hope.
Who is little 'Chef Renad'
With a life yet to be lived and experienced to the fullest, childhood in a way is the best time growing up unfazed about the harrowing surroundings. With her dreams racing through the galaxies, Renad, instead of talking about or highlighting the devastating circumstances in Gaza, especially that children are living through, decided to cheer herself and spread positivity amid the crisis by uploading cookery videos.
Renad makes traditional delicacies of Gazan culture and shares the recipes in detail through her videos. What's more interesting is she cooks all the recipes she shares on a stove, outside her refugee tent. Her optimistic and fierce act has caught the attention of netizens.
If the war hadn't broken last year and the circumstances were favourable, Renad would have been attending 5th grade now. Interestingly, the softer side of this little girl is shown in the video when she writes in her captions that she is preparing food and packing it in packets to donate to the refugee camps across the city.
“I imagine being in school, learning new things, playing sports. Never imagined I would be packing bags of food to support my neighbors, families and children at the age of 10,” mentions one of her posts.
Cooking for passion
In an interview with a foreign media, Renad said that she always loved cooking. She would watch cooking videos passionately and try out new recipes even before the war broke out. As Renad along with her family consisting of mother and sisters, was moved to a refugee camp, she began cooking with whatever basic ingredients she had available, often from aid boxes, dried goods and canned food.
Presently, Renad is a part of the referee camp crammed with her sisters, mother and others affected in a single house in Deir el-Balah, which is the prime location for Israeli force's bomb attacks. “I became famous by accident,” she said in her interview with a foreign media.
Balancing act
As far as Renad's content is concerned, her sister Nourhan Ataullah, a 25-year-old pharmacist has taken the responsibility of how Renad's content will go online. She ensures anything that Renad puts out on social media should encourage other children and elders to watch in their territory while also feeling hopeful for good days. At the same time, she also ensures that it does not upset people who have little to no access to food in their respective camps.
Talking about their journey so far after the war started in October 2023, Renad and her sister told the media that it was difficult to source vegetables, bakery items and other essentials at the beginning of the war, the same time when they started putting out cookery videos. Renad's sister said that since bakeries were bombed they survived only on a few loaves of bread.
Adapting to the challenges
Renad's sister shared that people have adapted to the situation very quickly. “Everybody would bake in a mud oven and divide the bread. We are a family of 10. If there are 20 pieces of bread, each person would have two loaves of bread and for that day you either eat them all at once or eat them throughout the day," she shared.
Amid the painful stories that come from the Palestinian territory, Renad's videos are not only an inspiration to millions of people out there living in the war-affected areas but also encourage, educate and serve life hacks through the medium of social media.
At least 41,825 people have been killed and 96,910 injured in Israeli attacks since October 2023 in Gaza.
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