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Palestinian orphans suffer discrimination

The tribal nature of Palestinian society frowns upon abandoned children whose parents are unknown.
Palestinian orphans play musical instruments at their orphanage in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip April 23, 2009. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA SOCIETY) - RTXEA92
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – “I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t know who I am or how I got into the world.” With these words, Louay, 24, started his interview with Al-Monitor, expressing his anger at his unknown parents who left him outside a mosque one night, never to return.

Louay, not his real name, is a young man who grew up in an orphanage in Gaza City, and was considered an orphan until a family adopted him at age 6. Louay has encountered negative perceptions from society, an issue he has failed to grasp.

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