'Every living thing is suffering. I pray to God this war ends soon'
Ellen Manning
Updated Fri, 22 December 2023
Diana Babish runs an animal shelter in the West Bank and says things are getting worse by the day. (Red Shed)
An animal shelter owner in the West Bank has been left struggling to look after sick and terrified animals affected by the ongoing conflict in the region, saying: "Every living thing is suffering. I pray to God this war ends soon."
Diana Babish, who runs the Animal and Environment Association (AEA) in Bethlehem - the only registered animal shelter in the West Bank - said the situation for animals in the area is rapidly deteriorating, with supplies running low, as well as funds to buy food and medicine. She said animals have been left terrified by loud bombs and the noises of fighting, with many injured or wounded.
The Red Shed, an animal welfare charity based in Ireland, is now trying to help both Babish and another shelter in Gaza, run by volunteer Saeed, by highlighting their plight.
Founder Sandy Sheerin said: "The shelter in West Bank, run by Diana Babish, is helping to bring animals in and out of an Israel animal hospital, but access is getting harder and harder. Near the settlements in West Bank, there is a small area to receive supplies for animals (food and medicine), but funds are running low.
"Most animals are frightened of the loud bombs and noises, uncertain of where to seek shelter if in a high-risk area. Diana and her crew of volunteers spend most of their days trying to get to animals injured or wounded from either a bomb attack or a fighter.
"Animals are as much a casualty of this war as one of the great risks is of disease in an area of southern Gaza that does not have clean running water etc. Cross-infection can occur between animals and humans without the right sanitation or hygienic areas."
The Sulala Animal Shelter in Gaza is overwhelmed with animals. (The Red Shed)
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Babish, a former bank manager who founded the shelter in 2016, said she and her volunteers spend most of their days trying to get to animals that are suffering as a result of the bombing or fighting, and has been helping to take them in and out of an animal hospital in Israel. However, she said access is getting harder and harder. She said: "The area where the shelter is was a bit safe, but now it is close to danger."
She said her counterpart, Saeed, who runs the Sulala Animal Shelter in Gaza, has been left struggling to feed the animals after the pet store in the centre of Gaza ran out of food. She said: "He opened the gate of the shelter because if bombing was close, the dogs can run. The dogs stay around the shelter because they are used to the area, some of his dogs reached certain places where the Israeli soldiers saw them, and were rescued by them and moved to Israel."
Babish currently has more than 100 dogs and 30 cats in her shelter, and says the situation is worsening as bombing continues - with the shelter in Gaza facing the same challenges. She said: "The situation in the West Bank is getting worse everywhere. Unemployment rate is higher, hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops are mostly closed, animals can't find food.
"Many international organisations are trying to get food in to Saeed, but it becomes difficult as bombing is everywhere. The borders are closed but hopefully food can come in. The zoo in Gaza had many animals, but they mostly died of bombing and hunger. I knew seven animals were still there, but I think by now none have survived. I cry a lot about this harsh situation, every living thing is suffering. I pray to God this war ends soon.
Babish rescues a box of abandoned puppies, left to fend for themselves amid the chaos in the West Bank. (The Red Shed)
Babish puts food out for stray cats, many of whom are terrified by the bombing. (The Red Shed)
Babish said she has been rescuing animals since she was a child, before going on to establish an organisation to help animals in the West Bank and building the shelter using her own savings.
"Since my childhood, I used to rescue animals. I started with rescuing a lot of cats and I had a cat indoors. Then I started rescuing a dog who used to escort me to my work and then came back home waiting for me on the roof until I come home. We started to think of having a shelter to help the animals in dire need of treatment, food, operations."
She started by renting a small house to home five dogs, but as the numbers of animals she was helping grew, Babish sought help from the authorities for somewhere to look after animals who needed her help.
"We had to collect donations from people because we didn't have any international connections that might help us. We had to knock the door of every company and rich people to help in starting building the shelter," she said.
"We also worked on raising awareness among all the local institutions. We held conferences, and started working with schools to break the fear of dogs among students. Our activity started to expand to reach rescuing animals all over the West Bank, helping stray dogs, cats and donkeys."
Spreading the word
Since it was set up, the shelter has rescued more than 4,500 dogs, 650 cats, and 15 donkeys. Its work includes treating animals, neutering them, and administering vaccinations as well as treatment for fleas and deworming. For several years, more severe cases have been sent to Israeli hospitals and clinics because they are too complicated for the shelter.
The shelter also arranges formal animal fostering and adoptions and is working to change policy around the abuse of animals. It receives no government funding, which means everything relies on donations and support from other organisations.
"I am the head of the association but I am a volunteer," added Babish. "I spent my savings from my work as a bank manage to build the shelter. We have good volunteers that post and spread the word about our shelter through theses channels so more people knew about us, and we were able to send dogs to Israel thousands, and to many countries abroad to US, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Ireland, Finland, and France."
Some animals have been left seriously injured in the conflict - this dog suffered a broken back. (The Red Shed)
Animals - the silent victims of war
Millions of animals have died over the centuries thanks to warfare between humans, figures suggest. Statistics shared by the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) show the range of animals killed by various conflicts, including the World Wars, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War.
According to CEOBs, even low-level human conflict can drive dramatic wildlife declines, with one study showing the effects of human conflict on large mammal populations in Africa. Other risks to animals range from landmines to the increased availability of small arms during war times, as well as wildlife crime during periods of unrest.
Alongside these, the more obvious risks of bombing and fighting leave animals injured and killed, while military exercises can also
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