In September 2022, a British aid worker, Katy, moved to East Jerusalem with her husband, Chris, and their baby daughter, Freya. A year later, on 7 October, Hamas launched its attacks in Israel, followed by Israel launching a full-scale military invasion of the Gaza Strip. The young British family found itself in a particulary tense environment, deeply concerned for their friends and colleagues in Gaza and the West Bank, and navigating some unexpected changes to their daily lives. In the weeks following, we asked Katy about the experience.
What work do you do and what other countries have you lived and worked in?
For the past 15 years I’ve been working in the field of Education in Emergencies (EiE), mostly as an Education Cluster Coordinator or in EiE Technical Advisor roles with UNICEF or Save the Children. I’ve had the great privilege to live and work with communities in a variety of crisis contexts, such as in Cox’s Bazar, Iraq, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Sudan and India.
How long have you been living in East Jerusalem and what work have you been doing there? Which organisation are you working with?
What was it like moving over there with a baby and your husband?
I was the one who persuaded my husband to apply for the posting! I had worked with UNRWA in the West Bank back in 2011 and 2012, and then with Save the Children in the West Bank and Gaza in 2017, and ever since have been dreaming of coming back to beautiful Palestine. My husband received 18 months of intensive Arabic language training and we moved to Jerusalem just after our daughter, Freya, turned one.
Katy and her family en route to their new life in East Jerusalem, in 2022.
What was it like being in Jerusalem with your family when the Hamas attack on 7th October occurred, and in the days following?
My husband and I were out on our terrace doing a workout at 7am, seizing the opportunity of Freya having an unexpected lay-in. We felt some shudders and thuds, but just assumed it was an Israeli military drill outside of Jerusalem – a fairly common occurrence. We went inside and made some coffee and Chris’ phone started pinging and we watched videos of the situation unfolding, 40 miles away along the edge of the Gaza strip.
We went outside and saw rocket trails in the sky, then heard the booms of the Iron Dome and the air raid sirens started.
Freya, my mother-in-law and I spent the day in and out of our safe room, which is luckily also Freya’s bedroom (you can’t tell it’s a bombproof room, apart from the metal shutters and steel door), [so] we set ourselves up in there with plenty of distractions, Disney and snacks, and watched as the news unfolded.
At this point, Freya and my mother-in-law (who’d just arrived the day before for her first visit to us in any of the places we’ve lived abroad..) were still sleeping so we decided to not wake them until we learned more. Chris quickly got dressed and ran in to the British Consulate; we didn’t see him until 11pm that night.
Freya, my mother-in-law and I spent the day in and out of our safe room, which is luckily also Freya’s bedroom (you can’t tell it’s a bombproof room, apart from the metal shutters and steel door.) We set ourselves up in there with plenty of distractions, Disney and snacks, and watched as the news unfolded. The next two days were very similar, in and out of the safe room which was now loaded up with bottled water and snacks. We weren’t allowed outside the house, so we made up a lot of games for Freya in the house: pretend shop and cafe, baking, cartoons, scootering through the house, painting, etc.
Throughout the first week we were extremely worried about our Gazan friends and colleagues, who weren’t able to leave the Strip. We were also worried about all our Palestinian friends who live across the West Bank, knowing that Israel would soon enough retaliate across the whole territory.
I also felt guilty that my mother-in-law was caught up in all this (her first time abroad in ten years), but also very grateful that she was able to help me keep me Freya safe and entertained. We only saw Chris briefly as he came home, shattered, at midnight each night.
Two-year-old Freya playing with a friend in the safe room in the days after the attacks, before the family was evacuated.
How worried were you for your family’s safety?
Although a few rockets were coming into the outskirts of Jerusalem, I was getting regular security alerts and updates from the Consulate so could track where things were escalating. I was a lot more worried for the safety of my Palestinian friends in Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank. On 9 October, our Palestinian neighbours in East Jerusalem had their car smashed in. Other Palestinian neighbours had a Molotov cocktail thrown at their house. Our friends started sleeping in shifts throughout the night to stay alert. Tensions were at an all-time high and settlers were starting to go throughout the West Bank with extreme rage and violence towards innocent civilians.
Chris…had to stay behind as he’s the Consulate’s Crisis Manager…and he is still working hard to get his team (and their families) safely out of Gaza, as well as lobby for more aid to get in through Rafah [border crossing].
Were you able to continue your humanitarian work during that time?
Not really, no. A combination of emergency legislation requiring all education facilities (including nurseries) to close, stocking up on emergency supplies and getting us all in and out of our safe room meant I wasn’t able to easily get to my laptop and continue my work. During that week my main focus at work had been supporting a number of Teach For All network partners who were navigating different emergencies, including Teach For Armenia and Teach For Ukraine. I was able to continue supporting them via Whats App and voice notes.
My organisation, Teach For All, was incredibly understanding. I was meant to travel that week to Kenya for our global conference, but they told me to fully focus on my family and come back online only when I could.
Katy prepared to evacuate with her daughter, Freya, while Chris stayed behind in Jerusalem.
How did you feel when you were evacuated?
I felt extreme guilt because I was given a way to leave, and yet nobody in Gaza was able to. I really didn’t want to leave, but it was the FCDO’s [the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – the UK’s foreign office] decision to enforce a ‘mandatory drawdown’ of British Diplomatic spouses and children due to the unfolding security situation. We had less than 24 hours’ notice, so exactly what I did and how I felt is a bit of a blur. I think we were told at midday that the UK Government had decided on a mandatory drawdown of us, and the evacuation flight was scheduled for the next morning with a 6am armoured convoy to the airport. Each of us was only allowed to take a total 17kg of luggage, which included hand luggage and a pram, so I spent the rest of that day and night packing, weighing and repacking. We don’t have many winter clothes with us in Jerusalem so it was a lot of scrambling about to find layers and warm clothes. There were videos and reports of the airport being hit by rockets, so it was an unsettling experience being at the airport waiting to board.
What is life like for you back in the UK, for now? And is Chris there with you, or did he stay?
Chris has had to stay behind as he’s the Consulate’s Crisis Manager. We hope to see him in a month or so, if he can get a few days off. We’re now eighteen days in and he is still working hard to get his team (and their families) safely out of Gaza, as well as lobby for more aid to get in through Rafah [border crossing]. Freya and I have booked an Airbnb for the next two months, in the English countryside town I grew up in. I have managed to get her a Monday-to-Friday nursery place, which is like gold dust in the UK, and we have borrowed a friend’s car. For now, I am trying to avoid the UK news, looking at any newspapers or social media, as the footage of the violence and destruction in Gaza is too heartbreaking and disgusting.
Will you go back to East Jerusalem?
Yes, as soon as possible. Our whole life is there – we have a great network of Palestinian and international friends, Freya is now bilingual with Arabic and English, all her best friends at nursery are still in Jerusalem and she lists their names every morning! The FCDO will review the ‘drawdown’ in December (2023).
The family visiting Bethlehem, in the West Bank, before 7 October 2023.
*** Note: Katy and Freya did return to East Jerusalem to continue their life there, with Chris. But they were once again evacuated in October 2024, one year after the October 2023 attacks, as Israel launched attacks in Lebanon and Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against Israel.