Sulala: A Man’s Struggle to Rescue Animals in Gaza

Saeed Al Err, the founder of the only animal rescue in the Gaza strip, Sulala, is struggling to provide food and care to animals in the midst of violent bombings and diminishing supplies.

“I was able to speak with Saeed about an hour ago, so I know he’s fine. We don’t always manage to talk. The signal was coming and going,” says Annelies Keuleers, a volunteer for Sulala Animal Rescue. Based in Belgium, she began helping Err with social media in 2019. As she speaks both English and Arabic, she could share Sulala’s work with a wider, international audience.

Since last October, however, the updates on the rescue’s Facebook page have taken a grim turn. On 8 October, the day after Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians, Keuleers had to announce that one of the people working for Sulala Animal Rescue had been killed. Loay Rami Al Wadi, aged 19, had taken care of the dogs in the shelter on a daily basis for the past two years.

“We are very sorry to report that one of our dear shelter employees, Loay Rami Al Wadi was killed yesterday,” the post read. “He was not yet 20 years old. We wish his family lots of strength and we hope everyone will stay safe.”

But safety is hard to come by in Gaza. With Mr. Err’s home in central Gaze just north of the evacuation zone, he had to move fast.

Seeking Shelter

“He had disabled dogs with him, as well as 120 cats. Some animals were in his home, some in homes he rented, yet more at the shelter,” Keuleers says. “He was able to collect them all and move to the shelter, which is also in central Gaza but south of the evacuation zone. It’s supposed to be safe, but the truth is that nowhere is safe. As we talked about the bombings, he told me that he’ll be happy if, when all this ends, half of each family in Gaza is still alive. It’s that bad.”

People in shelter’s area received suggestions to move further south, with the clear implication they are within range of bombings. But with all the animals to take care of, Err and his family cannot leave – and their car has no fuel. An employee of the rescue, Adel, who moved with his family to seek safety, has now joined them along with another employee called Haneen.

“We have lost contact with a volunteer, Umm Oday. Last we heard she was in Gaza City, at the Al-Shifa hospital, and was feeding cats whenever she could,” says Keuleers. “We don’t know where she is now, but we are hopeful that she was able to flee south.

“Saeed and his family, especially his son Sa’ed, are working hard to help the stray and lost animals in the area they’re in now. They feed the dogs and cats, and help horses and donkeys, and give them water. Saeed knows that the situation in Gaza City is terrible, and that there must be many animals as well as people who need help. It hurts him, but there is nothing he can do. It’s too dangerous, he’d almost certainly be killed.”

Hoping for Ceasefire

Err has put together a small team, hoping he can reach Gaza City in the event of a ceasefire and aid as many animals as possible, but with no fuel for cars the plan is very difficult to put in practice. The lack of fuel also means that many have to use horses or donkeys to move around and cannot feed them properly.

“Saeed tried to buy the donkeys to take care of them, but no one is selling them now,” Keuleers says.

An animal lover since childhood, Err established Sulala in 2006 – at first keeping in his own home or in the homes of volunteers, and then creating a shelter on a piece of land. With Keuleers’ help reaching a wider audience, and support from rescue organisation Animal Australia, the rescue has gone from strength to strength.

“It has grown so much, and Saeed has done so many things,” Keuleers says. “He did a lot of work in the community. He went to schools, too, to teach children about animals and how to treat them well.”

A pause.

“Of course, that’s over now. The children are too traumatised for it.”

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