In Douma apocalyptic scene, an old man, a spoon and his dignity intact.

In Douma, many residents refuse to beg for food, especially the elderly who led dignified lives prior to the war and are held on a pedestal in Syrian society. Many go to great lengths to remain self-sufficient. This old man is no exception.

Eastern Ghouta was not prepared for the siege the first time around, so no one had stored any food. The regime had cut off communications previously and electricity and water, but it was never this bad. A lot of elderly people and young kids passed away from hunger-related illnesses.

Once, in the middle of the day, we saw an elderly man balancing himself at the edge of a dumpster and digging into his pocket for something.

He casually got out a spoon as we stood there mesmerized and he reached into the trash, opened a bag and started eating with his spoon right there in front of us. He did this just so he wouldn’t have to ask people for help. The elderly here are very proud and they were never in a position where they had to beg for food so they just can’t bring themselves to ask. We were all eating grass at that point anyway. My mom had stored some food staples early on, but we ran out of everything within a few months. Whatever we could find, we would eat and we soon became very malnourished. Those who weighed over a 100 kg were down to 50 kg within five months. The following year, people realized the siege wasn’t going to be lifted anytime soon and they started coming up with creative ways to farm their own wheat but we don’t have fuel so it’s difficult.

As told by Elias, from Douma.