Hani Almadhoun is UNRWA USA’s new Director of Philanthropy.

Though he now lives in Virginia with his wife and daughters, he grew up in the Gaza Strip. Hani’s father was an UNRWA teacher in Gaza and his family benefited from UNRWA services there, so he can speak firsthand from personal experience about the work UNRWA does and how the Gaza Strip has changed over the past few decades.

Below he explores what Arab Mother’s Day, celebrated on March 21, means when a blockade separates you from your family and the role of women in Palestine refugee society.

March 21 is a bittersweet day for many Palestinians, especially those who are separated from their families and loved ones. For me, today marks my 20th Arab Mother’s Day away from my mom. An ocean and an entire continent separate me from my family in the Gaza Strip. But it’s not the physical distance that makes our reunion impossible, but rather the huge, terrifying walls, blockaded borders, and heavily guarded siege around the Gaza Strip that keeps my family unreachable. 

While I wish she would visit me, my daughters, and my wife here in the US, the combination of her refugee status, the strict and unpredictable entry and exit permissions in Gaza, and her fear about leaving Palestine and never being allowed to return, prevents her from visiting. I do not blame her, as leaving our homes sparks dark memories for all Palestinians. 

Growing up in Gaza, I remember on Mother’s Day my whole family would gather at our house and organize a celebration for the women in our lives. Despite this being a tradition, my mother, never expected anything, so we always managed to surprise her. She’d always say the same thing: "‘I don’t want you to trouble yourself for me!’ But we weren’t troubled; we adored celebrating her, alongside my grandmother, aunts, and sisters.

This is not uncommon, as this day is celebrated elaborately and enthusiastically across the Arab world. As mothers celebrate this special day in the Middle East, North Africa, and across the diaspora, Arab pop stars release songs in honor of their mothers, street vendors compete to come up with creative ideas to sell gifts in honor of the occasion, and families spend time together to celebrate the strength and resilience of the women in their lives. 

As I age and raise a family of my own in the US, I am reminded of how important it is for my two daughters to connect with and acknowledge their refugee roots and look to the previous generations of women as role models. In the case of my mother, she raised me, my brothers, and sisters. She was a pillar of stability in our lives, and despite facing the types of trauma that have defined the Palestinian refugee experience, including losing her home, living in a refugee camp, experiencing war, aerial bombardment, military invasions, and home raids, she raised us with love, optimism, and compassion for others. 

At this point in the year, I always take time to reflect on the struggle my parents faced growing up as refugees. My dad was the first child to be born to his parents after becoming refugees. He was born in a makeshift medical tent in a refugee camp where UNRWA provided services. Three years prior to his birth, his parents were forced to flee from their home in Ashkelon (‘Asqalān’ in Arabic), thinking their displacement was only temporary.

It was outside an UNRWA school where my dad and mother met and spent time together, and every day from school, my father would dutifully walk her home. It was through UNRWA he found steady employment as a teacher, and where my mother turned to receive the social services and humanitarian resources to provide for our family. As an UNRWA teacher, my dad created a lasting impact, helping advance the next generation of Palestinians, and UNRWA was the reason my mother and many other young girls were educated, as the Agency gave families cash assistance and meals as an incentive to keep girls in school, and milk and supplemental vitamins to keep them healthy.

The Agency is intertwined with my family, and thousands of others in Gaza, and I credit it to the successes of both the men and women in my family.

While all refugees suffer and face hardships, women and especially mothers, as the caretakers of the household, are the ones who tend to bear the greatest burden in holding the family together in the face of whatever life throws their way. In the case of my family, we were all born in different places, or forced to live in different countries at some point of our lives, but it was the maternal figures that kept us united, focused on our education, and optimistic towards our futures.  

It is with this awareness that Arab Mother’s Day holds more significance in my mind. The women in our lives are the ones who often face the greatest hardship and burden, and yet receive the least credit and acknowledgment for their undue hardships.

So, to my mother and all the mothers in the world, to the sisters, aunts, and grandmothers, thank you for teaching us how to love and care. To admire the resilience and tenaciousness of Palestine refugees is to admire our women, as they are the reason that we are the way we are.  

Palestinian women, in particular, have achieved tremendous milestones. They are the visionary engineers, celebrated academics, resourceful teachers, brilliant scientists, compassionate doctors, smart businesswomen, and creative writers of our community. And in my family, and many others I knew in the Gaza Strip, it was our UNRWA education and development services that helped pave the way for these successes.

Together, in the spirit of Arab Mother’s Day, I encourage you to honor the leading lady in your life and unlock the potential in all Palestinian women, by making a contribution to the Agency that empowered them to be the resilient and successful leaders they are within their families and communities. 

To let your honoree know how much they mean to you, at check out, make sure to select 'dedicate my donation in honor or in memory of someone,' and then choose one of the Mother's Day ecards previewed below.