Images from Gaza-Palestine

 

We quote “ There is a great woman beside every a great man “ . The Palestinian woman is unlike other women in this world. The Palestinian woman could be the daughter, wife, sister or mother of a prisoner, martyr or injured. She is a stone thrower, living martyr and freedom fighter. She is an inspiration for every woman as she smiles,works hard, revolts, rebels and dreams despite all what all difficulties she does through.

PS: There are 10 Palestinian women in the Israeli jails and 460 Palestinian women got killed by the Israeli occupation.

 

This photo can show me two things; The first beautiful thing is the Palestinian children still achieve successes and try to draw smile in their lips despite all what they go through. They smashed the Guinness World Record for the largest-ever hand print painting , kites-flying and dribbling soccer balls.

The other painful part is the smokestack that exists in the Occupied Palestine. This other part of my country that every Palestinian dreams of going there. This part of Palestine that I can see but I can never reach. This doesn’t mean that Palestinians may loose the hope of moving one day freely in my country without Israeli checkpoints and borders.

 

This civilian home has been targeted by the Israeli warplanes. This home was a place for safety and peace. Seeing it on this way is now like a nightmare for its owners that they wish to wake up from. The continuous Israeli attacks on Palestine bring many images and memories from Nakba 1948 when Palestinians were forces to leave their houses with nothing but their keys and much hope of returning back to their homelands someday. This hope is still eagerly waiting.

Beach is the only possible destination to escape away from the reality . However, the beach became a dangerous place, and you may lose one of your family members there. Huda Ghalyeh witnessed the danger of Gaza beach while she was sitting with her family peacefully and enjoying the beautiful waves hugging Gaza shores. Her happiness was disrupted as Israeli navy shelled the beach. Huda Ghalyeh was the only survivor of her family due to the aggressive attack.

 

This image reminded me of some of every human being’s rights that every Palestinian is deprived from. “ Freedom and Peace “ have been always names for a song or headlines in a newspaper no more and no less. Everyone on this earth can tell you passionately about what freedom feels like but no Palestinian can do so. Palestinians live in an open air prison with Israeli checkpoints and borders. Every Palestinian is sick from hearing the repeated word “ YOU CAN’T “ . Palestinians will keep fighting until they figure out what freedom means.

 

Author’s Note : All the photos have been taken by Reham Ghazali . She is a photographer living in the Gaza strip.

Despite our difficulties, we keep on saying "On this land what is worth living""

I spent 4 hours alone at home today without electricity, listening to the awful sounds of the Israeli drones hovering over Gaza Sky and the generators. Being in such a situation makes me think deeper so I brought my mobile phone to write on as I had no charge left in my laptop. After writing many things about my life as a young woman living in the besieged Gaza strip, I came out with a personal theory which is ‘living in the Gaza strip is an inspiration to every Palestinian.’

Scales overturned in Palestine especially in Gaza. People outside use candles to create a romantic atmosphere but Gazans use them to give some light to escape the darkness that we live. Candles in Gaza burn themselves in order to give light to Gazans just as so many Gazans are so generous in their self-sacrifice for their citizens. When I was In Stockholm, my friend used to turn candles on whenever we have dinner. I used to make fun of the symbolic differences between candles in Gaza and Stockholm. I wanted to bring some of her candles back home with me so I use them in as she did, for a nicer atmosphere, whenever I want to, not whenever I have to!

Most of the people outside are addicted to music and songs which make the person relaxed and makes his mood better. However, as usual, things are different in Gaza. The Israeli drones would have a louder volume than our songs do. Therefore, we won’t be able to fully enjoy listening to music and separate ourselves from horror hovering above us outside. (PS: You will never be able to imagine how annoying their sound is until you try it.)

Ordinary people stay the whole night up to work, watch movies, or chat to friends and family and so on but Gazans have a sleeping clock which depends on the daily power-cut schedule at their homes. Two days ago, we heard six loud explosions nearby and it made me traumatized especially that they were one after another. After that Israel attack, I was very sleepy but I couldn’t sleep, fearing more bombs might fall at any moment and might target our house. Having these fears in mind didn’t let me go to sleep until I saw the daylight.

Two days ago, The United Nations published a report saying that Gaza will not be a ‘liveable’ place by 2020 due to the problems it has in water, electricity, health and education. It reminds us of a famous line of poetry that every Palestinian living in the besieged Gaza still quotes from the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, ‘On this land what is worth living’.

#PalestinainLove

I was staring at my laptop’s screen and seeing people status about love ,politics and so on . I imagined how the true Palestinian love would be so I kept tweeting about it using the hashtag #PalestinianLove . Here are some of my tweets .

and here Joe Catron "@JnCatron" who is an American activist  tweets also about Mahmoud Sarsak and girls who would fall in love will him .

and I still tweet about #PalestinianLove.

and I started to imagine how my Palestinian traditional wedding will look like when I find my revolutionary man .

and even the Palestinian flirt is unlike any flirt in the other world .

and also the Palestinian gift is different .

It’s normal that everyone would like to be a Palestinian. Here are some of the replies which are related to my tweets about #PalestinianLove.

Finally , I would make this promose .

See you all in a free Palestine.

 

A Gazan Vacation

THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED HERE

When asked to introduce myself, I do not really know how to do it. I simply say “I am a Palestinian girl living in the Gaza strip” because that says it all. Being a Palestinian living in the Gaza strip means a lot; it means that this place will shape not only your life, but also who you are. Living in Gaza made me a dreamer, a seeker, a lover and a believer. Above all, it made me witness wars, siege and division.

I am finished now with the first year of my English-French literature BA. It is time for me to have a relaxing vacation. To be more specific, it is a Gazan vacation. A Gazan vacation is unlike any other vacation in the whole world. A Gazan vacation means that if you are planning to travel anywhere, you have to go through a long path of suffering troubles on borders and checkpoints. A Gazan vacation means that if you get an opportunity to travel for a conference to represent Palestine or merely for recreation, your visa will be denied.

My brother Majed Abu Salama received an internship opportunity in the USA with Al Jazeera International. He persisted to go to Rafah border for two weeks clinging with hope to travel. He also paid 700$ to get an Egyptian coordination. Unfortunately, all his efforts failed to facilitate his travel. He finally gave up on traveling to the USA as he has already missed one month from the internship waiting to cross Rafah borders. Even if he did, he would have to wait more time for his visa to be issued in Egypt.

You spend your vacation in Gaza under constant Israeli attacks, a typical life for a Palestinian in Gaza. Israel targets Gaza with no consideration to civilian houses. They murder and wound civilians, including children, women and the elderly, in the name of self-defense. In two weeks in June, Israeli warplanes dropped forty-one missiles murdering sixteen Palestinians; including four children, and injuring more than seventy. Therefore, you spend your vacation visiting funerals of martyrs who were killed by the Israeli offensive attacks.

A vacation in Gaza means that the only possible destination to run away from the reality is the beach. However, the beach became a dangerous place, and you may lose one of your family members there. Huda Ghalyeh witnessed the danger of Gaza beach while she was sitting with her family peacefully and enjoying the beautiful waves hugging Gaza shores. Her happiness was disrupted as Israeli navy shelled the beach. Huda Ghalyeh was the only survivor of her family due to the aggressive attack.

If you are a Palestinian in Gaza and plan to travel, your government will fill your path with as many obstacles as possible to make your journey difficult. My cousin Sarah Salibi was prevented by the Hamas government from passing through Erez checkpoint to go to the American Consulate in Jerusalem for her visa interview. Her only charge was that she participated in the youth movement demanding an end to the division between Fatah and Hamas in March 15, 2011.

A Gazan vacation means that you have to adapt to 8 hours a day without electricity. Imagine how unbearable your hot summer would be without power to turn on air-conditioning and fans. A Gazan vacation means that you may not find water to shower or drink during the summer. We have air-conditioning at home, but we barely use it due to power cuts. Moreover, I hate it when I return from university and do not find water to shower or when I find heaps of dirty unwashed dishes left in the kitchen due to water cuts.

Khalil Gibran said, “out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls.” That’s exactly the case with us. We, Palestinians, are exceptional and special in everything even in the way we spend our vacation. Despite everything we go through, Gaza residents still continue their lives with determination. They try to find the simplest ways to find happiness. This is how we Palestinians teach life!

بحقلي!

بحكو\حقوق\زي\عدالة\حرية\مساواة\حب\حقي\بدي\لا\بديش\اه\بحقلي\ارقص\اقعد\اوقف\العب\اصوت\ازعق\أضحك\أبكي\ابتسم\احب\اكره\اشلح\البس\اكتب\احكي\اسكت\انتخب\اترشح\اسافر\أصاحب\استقل\استقر\اأبعد \أقرب\اجري\امشي\أغني\أرقص\أشتغل\أعزف\أكون بطالة\منتجة\مستهلكة\بدون\حدود\عادات\تقاليد\قيود\ديانات\بردو\حقي\أسمع\ثائرة\وطنية\مواطنة\حقي\أبوس\أحضن\أقرر\أختار\أحدد\أكتب\أحلم\أتمني\أقنع\أحتج\أعارض\أتظاهر\أثور\هاهاهاها\اتمسخر\أتف\أطرّز\أرتب\أخربش\أناقش\أجادل\أحاور\أستفيد\أجامل\أعطي\آخد\أسبح\أدعي\أصلي\للي بدي اياه\ألحد\أخطط\أنفذ\أزهق\أقرف\أحاول\أفكر\أعمل-علاقات\أدرس\جامعة-محترمة\تخصص\أنام\أصحي\أؤيد\حقوقي\مش\محصورة\بدي\أطالب\بدكو\أختصر\بس\لا\أنا\المهم\أنا\بديش\مشان\حقي\أكون\أنا\يا\أنت\سلام.

ملاحظة : ولا شكل من أشكال الحرية و حقوق الانسان مارستها في بلدتي ,كل ممارسات حقوق الانسان مارستها برا بلدي للأسف .وهادا أكتر شي بيشعرني بالحزن .

#Nakba64

 

Al-Nakba is a people who have been in a state of revolt since 1948. These 64 years bring me images and memories of my grandparents and all the Palestinians who had to leave their land by force, with eyes full of tears and hearts full of anger, yet with a deep sense of optimism about returning! Groups of Palestinians left carrying nothing but the keys to their homes. Al-Nakba is a very pessimistic word, but this doesn’t mean that Palestinians will lose their hope of returning to their original lands. My grandmother passed away with much hope that the next generation would change May 15 from Nakba Day to Victory Day!

لا للتحرش الجنسي . No to Sexual harrasement

          

بعد ما لاحظت في زيادة بمواقف التحرش الجنسي اللي بتعرضو الها البنات وانا منهم .المشكلة انو التحرش الجنسي صار بطرق أبشع واوسع ماشالله ,قررت انو أحكي وأوعي الناس بهادي الظاهرة .

رح أحكي موقف من الموقف اللي بنت تعرضت الو (بدون ذكر أسماء ),كانت البنت ماشية بشارع عمومي واذا بشرطي (طبعا الشرطة في حماية الشعب )علي فزبة ضربها علي قفاها ,البنت هاي صرخت بصوت عالي ,لكن للأسف الصرخة ما حدا سمعها وماصحت الا قلائل ,والشرطي هادا ضلو يطلع عليها بدو يشوف ردة الفعل تبعها , بس عفوا شو كان متوقع ردة الفعل " يلا عيدها مرة تانية ,انا استمتعت بالضربة " .

بعد الاعتداءات الجنسية اللي صرت أسمعها بشكل كبير من كتير بنات ,قررت انو اصير أكتب علي الفيس بوك ,علي تويتر , علي مدونتي عن التحرش الجنسي وأحاول أتناقش مع الناس بهيك موضوع . بعض التعليقات اللي ردت علي موضوع التحرش الجنسي شب بيحكي " هيك انخلقنا بغريزتنا الجنسية . شو نعمل يعني " , شب آخر رد " الحق علي البنات ,هما اللي بعرضو عالهم لهيك اشي " والتعليق التاني زي لما بنت يتم اغتصابها وحدا يحكيلها " اغتصبك ؟ ليش شو كنتي لابسة ؟"

                  

بحب أحكي لكل الناس اللي شايفة انو التحرش الجنسي هوا سببو البنت ,انو أولا التحرش الجنسي بيشمل الجنسين اللي هما (الذكر والأنثي ) سواء بشكل لفظي او فعلي,تانيا إنو التحرش الجنسي ما بينتج غير من نفسيات مريضة ,تالتا ,التحرش الجنسي فش الو أي مبررات واي حدا ببرر لهيك ظاهرة بحب أقلو "عذر أقبح من ذنب " ,رابعا التحرش الجنسي لازم ينعمل الو حد وهادا الحد لازم يعملو الجهة الاكتر عرضة لإلو .