Gaza family fled as food ran out and continues work from Tampere

Shady and Hanan Shurrab fled Gaza with their three children in June 2025 after food shortages became unbearable and their older son suffered malnutrition. The family has now lived in Finland for a year, and both parents continue their work remotely from Tampere, Yle reports.

Most of the family’s belongings stayed behind. They were not allowed to take personal documents, laptops, clothes or warm food across the border. They left with one phone and the clothes they were wearing.

The family travelled from temporary accommodation in Deir al-Balah to a UNICEF office, then to the Abu Salim crossing and into an area occupied by Israel. Hanan Alakloub Shurrab recalls being offered fruit, biscuits and juice by staff at the Finnish Embassy in Tel Aviv. After what they had experienced in Gaza, the uninterrupted electricity and plentiful food were striking. A visit to Jordan also brought home how normal life outside Gaza had continued, she said.

Before leaving Gaza, Shady worked for Doctors Without Borders in emergency aid coordination, while Hanan was dean of the media and communication faculty at the Palestinian University. The Scholars at Risk network helped arrange a visiting researcher position for Hanan at Tampere University. She also teaches Palestinian students online. Shady continues his work for Doctors Without Borders remotely, attending meetings and supporting staff in Gaza.

The couple say continuing to work is a way to support people in Gaza and cope with guilt over leaving. Many of their relatives and friends remain there, Hanan said, because Gaza is their home. The couple decided they had no alternative because of their children.

Hanan said life in Gaza had never been entirely ordinary, citing blockades, power cuts, movement restrictions and repeated bombings over the years. After the war began, universities closed and she lost contact with many colleagues and students. She said about 40 students from one school had been killed.

The family was displaced several times, moving first to Khan Younis, then Rafah and finally Deir al-Balah. While in Rafah, Hanan volunteered at a Doctors Without Borders health centre, leading support groups for women who had lost children and children who had lost parents. After Rafah was largely destroyed during an Israeli ground operation in May 2025, the family moved again and Hanan continued working at a health centre in Deir al-Balah.

The children have made friends and learned the language in Finland, according to Yle. The family misses Gaza, although their home there has been destroyed.