"with just the shirt on his back"

Today, feeling ridiculously useless, in one of the refugee camp/hotels, I listened in as a reporter interviewed the official spokesperson.

"Did anyone arrive without luggage? with just the shirt on his back?"

"No, they all came with baggage."

I was pretty sure that they didn't come with much, certainly less than the "two suitcases and a carry-on" that one takes on a plane. So I checked it out with the volunteer coordinator, who confirmed that people had very little, certainly much less than one takes for a week's vacation.

Tonight, I spoke to a neighbor who is one of our coordinators, trying to help the refugees. Apparently we'll be trying to assist the ones who will be put up in the Ariel College domitories. I told her of my frustration, not really finding a niche among those helping. She said that it seems like almost everything she's trying to do is also being done by others before she can get to them. I mentioned what I heard in Jerusalem about the suitcases.

"Wait a minute," she said. "I just heard that there are refugees without anything. My friend told me that her cousin, who lived in Gush Katif was near his house, when soldiers went up to him and forced him to get on the bus. He begged them to just let him go in his house to get his wallet, cellphone, a couple of things. They refused and forced him into the bus. He left with just the shirt on his back."