by Diao Wencong, Shi Xinyi

CAIRO, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Ahmad al-Nafar, a 30-year-old man from war-torn Gaza City, now runs a coffee shop in the Nasr City neighborhoods in Egypt's capital Cairo. Ahmad's tiny and unassuming cafe started operation on May 30, marking the restart of his coffee business three months after he fled to Egypt.

Ahmad said he was keen to highlight the Palestinian identity of the cafe, serving the same coffees he once offered in Gaza to his new customers.

Behind the coffee shop's rebirth lies a heart-rending story of displacement, during which Ahmad and his family endured immense hardships, including the loss of their home and the constant threat of violence in the Gaza Strip.

In February, Ahmad's hopes for peace were shattered after an Israeli airstrike on Ali Mosque in Rafah, near his temporary shelter.

"Every second passed as if it was a year of pain and suffering ... I realized we could no longer find a safe place in Gaza," Ahmad recalled.

Nasr City has become a new home to many Palestinians who fled the Gaza Strip to Egypt.

Among them is Anwar Ashraf, who runs a Shawarma restaurant called Ebn Gaza, which means "Son of Gaza."

"We named it Ebn Gaza to indicate our identity, that we are Palestinians from Gaza," said Anwar, who hopes to bring a taste of home to Palestinians settled down here with Gaza Shawarma, a blend of the Middle Eastern dish of thinly sliced meat and unique Palestinian flavor.

Although Palestinians account for approximately 80 percent of Anwar's customers, some Egyptians also frequent the Shawarma restaurant to support his business. "They show us respect because we come from Gaza," Anwar said.

Ahmad is equally concerned about the future of his two kindergarten-aged children, as well as the success of his cafe business.

While insisting on sending his children to school to continue their education, Ahmad has also been deeply ambivalent about their integration into Egypt, fearing they might lose their Palestinian identity after growing accustomed to life and studies in the country.

This dilemma reminds Ahmad of his "stubborn" father, who prioritizes Palestinian identity even before his safety.

Ahmad said his father still clings to the homeland in Gaza amid the ongoing bloodshed, explaining, "He is afraid that once you leave Gaza, you may never be able to return." "My grandpa's generation already experienced this before," Ahmad lamented, lost in contemplation.

The arduous struggle to adapt to new homes has weighed heavily on generations of Palestinians, beginning with the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, which uprooted more than 750,000 Palestinians, according to figures released by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

While the number of people who successfully fled Gaza remains undocumented, the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the coastal enclave has topped 45,000, according to Gaza-based health authorities. Meanwhile, the UN estimates that 1.9 million people out of the total population of about 2.2 million have been displaced in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

Ahmad and Anwar said they longed to return home, but face immense challenges due to the ongoing conflict -- a dilemma shared by tens of thousands of Palestinians who have sought refuge and safety beyond the Gaza Strip. Enditem

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