Have you ever wondered what a normal day in Gaza looks like? What the pandemic lockdowns meant for people living in the world’s largest open-air prison? Have you ever really spoken to a Palestinian in the occupied Strip? In this ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ segment, we highlight a book not written by one or two authors, but by dozens of young, passionate, and aspiring Palestinian writers from all over Gaza.
We Are Not Numbers is a collection of essays, stories, and poems written by Palestinians in Gaza. The book contains a selection of stories from the more than 1,300 written by Palestinians in Gaza as part of a wider project started by social-justice activist Pam Bailey and Palestinian journalist Ahmed Alnaouq .
“If more people could be exposed to the reality of living in Gaza… this could wake people up and have the possibility, at least, of changing things,” says Bailey, whose trip to Gaza in 2014 prompted the launch of this project after meeting her future co-founder, Al Naouq.
The idea for the book came after Al Naouq’s older brother, Ayman, was killed by an Israeli missile in 2014. The tragedy sparked the beginning of this project and is now the first story featured in the book. But Ayman isn’t the only family member Al Naouq has lost. In the early months of the genocide, 21 members of his family were killed by Israel, including his younger brother Mahmoud Al Naouq, whose writing is also featured in the book.
“I believe writing is a way in which we can immortalize the stories of our loved ones. It is a way in which we can immortalize the stories of the Palestinian people. And Mahmoud is just another person, another writer of the many, many writers and journalists Israel killed,” Al Naouq tells Mehdi.
In addition to Mahmoud Al Naouq, three other writers featured in this book were also killed by Israel before its publication: Yousef Dawas, Huda Alsoso, and Mohammed Hamo. In addition, one of the project’s co-founders, Refaat Alareer, was also killed.
You can click here to buy your copy of We Are Not Numbers.
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Looking for more book recommendations? Visit the Zeteo book club here for inspiration.
