More than three men tried cutting down a huge Kenya tree on Salah al-Din highway in the city of Khan Younis. Each man held a sharp tool, trying to cut down a part of the tree, tossing its lush green branches aside. The Kenya's smell can be easily distinguished from a distance. Not only the nose picks up the smell but memory too. A Kenya tree was ever-present throughout our childhood, standing at the entrance of the school, or in the middle of its square. Its smell remains with you as you grow older.

Three hundred Kenya trees on the Salah al-Din Highway stretching from the city of Rafah in the south to the city of Deir al-Balah in the north have been chopped down since March by the Ministry of Agriculture to pave the road. It is said that some of these trees are posing a threat as they are doomed to fall.

It used to protect us from the sun

Brothers Zuhair and Hamdan Abu Hadayed, ages 6 and 9 respectively, arrived at their home that overlooks Salah al-Din Highway on the outskirts of the city of Rafah. Drops of sweat were visible on their faces. Hamdan said the taxi drove them from the remote al-Fakhari elementary school. Sometimes they return home on foot. Whether they waited for a car or walked back home, Hamdan and his brother used to enjoy the Kenya trees' shade and their leafy branches, which once waved in the breeze.