Akron, Iowa native on the ground in Gaza, bringing humanitarian aid to war-torn country
SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - The Israeli war with Hamas has raged for six months. Since it began, more than 32,000 Palestinians have died, and countless Palestinians and Israelis have been injured. One Siouxland man was on the ground in Gaza, helping provide humanitarian aid to those who need it most.
“I saw a job with the UN in Gaza and applied for it.”
After spending 21 years in the Army, including two tours in Afghanistan, Akron, Iowa native Scott Anderson was looking for his next mission. That mission, led him to the United Nations, providing humanitarian aid to people in Gaza.
“And then it kind of turned out to be a life changing event in many ways that I never thought would happen.”
He arrived in Gaza in 2008 where he spent eight years. “Three conflicts 2009, 2012, 2014, which we thought would be the worst that we had ever seen, which unfortunately, is not true,” he said. “I had hoped that we’d be on a path to peace, which unfortunately, did not occur.”
Anderson thought his time in Gaza was over. Then Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7th. “I went back into Gaza, November 16th and it was unlike really anything I’d seen.”
He described the destruction “The power plant in Gaza, that hasn’t worked since October 7th. So any electricity, that comes comes from a generator or solar panels.”
When he left years ago, he said he wasn’t planning on going back. He was in Sioux Falls, S.D. when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
“I thought that part of my life was behind me,” he said of his humanitarian work in Gaza. “But because I was there for so long, and because of the scale of what happened, the UN called and asked if I’d come back. And of course, I said yes. Because we’re all about just trying to save lives.”
The conflict from afar, he says, seems very black and white. But on the ground, it’s different.
“When you’re there, it’s Shades of Grey,” he explained. “I said after the 2014 Conflict that this is probably the most talked about and written about conflict in history, but the least understood, because you actually have to be there and understand that what happened 30 years ago is as relevant as what happened three days ago. And it’s all very, very intertwined.
“It’s very complicated,” he said. “And even though you think it’s pretty clear in this instance, it was pretty clear what happened on October 7th was clear provocation. But it’s never as black and white as it seems from afar.”
Anderson and his team with the “United Nations Relief and Works Agency” provide basic necessities, like food, water, and medical care, to civilians trapped in Gaza.
“What you have is 90% of the population, 2 million people, have been displaced, many of them more than one time. So what we’re trying to do is keep the innocent civilians, and mostly women, children, elderly, make sure they have enough to meet their basic needs every day.”
Hamas still holding countless people hostage in Gaza.
“I met a woman whose daughter is a hostage. And I’m a parent, I can’t imagine what that would be like to go through,” Anderson said. “So what we all want is a ceasefire, return of the hostages. And then we can see what comes after that.”
Millions of Palestinians have called Gaza home for generations. “There’s some families that can trace their history all the way back to the biblical times. Then there’s a church in Gaza City. It’s one of the oldest churches in the world, a Greek Orthodox Church that I’ve had the opportunity to visit. And it’s old, you measure it in millennia how old the church is, not just in years,” Anderson described. “So it’s an incredible place to visit and to learn and to try to understand.”
The war with Hamas in Gaza is going on it’s 6th month.
“I’ve had the opportunity to visit all of Gaza, from the north to the south, the scale of destruction is significant,” he said after I asked him what he’s seen since the war began in October. “You said it’s been six months, which it has been. But if you think of our history, 911 was 20 years in Afghanistan. So comparing the two scales, it’s much different. But I think the conflict also is much different. Hopefully it will end sooner, the hostages will be freed and returned to their families. And we can get about rebuilding what comes next for Gaza.”
During his time in Gaza with the U.N., Anderson met his wife, who is from Miami. “I think it was fate,” he said.
And, he says, he’s met some incredible people along the way.
“People are very compelling, like they are anywhere,” he said. “There’s a grace and resilience to most Palestinians, and also most Israelis. I think, for the most part, it is rewarding. I have great friends, both in Israel and in Palestine. And one of my best friends is from Israel. We worked very closely the whole time I was there.”
“I think to really understand the dynamics you have to visit Palestine and visit Israel,” he said. “You have to listen, not just assume that you know the answer to how things are.”
Anderson says this work fills him with a sense of purpose.
“In some ways, you’re taught here growing up in Iowa, you help your neighbors. The things you learned in school, things you learned in church. So it’s the right thing to do to help protect innocents, women and children in particular, because you just want them to have an opportunity to live their life.”
“Overall, it was a wonderful, wonderful experience. And it really kind of changed my viewpoint of life, being a humanitarian.”
Anderson’s time in Gaza isn’t over. He’ll head back to the Middle East, and Gaza, very soon.
If you’d like to learn more about the humanitarian work Anderson does or see how you can help those impacted by this war, visit www.unrwa.org.
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