we are not numbers

emerging writers from Palestine tell their stories and advocate for their human rights

Al-Orjwan Shurrab

  • Gaza Strip

Al-Orjwan is a translator and writer. After she studied English literature at the Islamic University of Gaza, she worked as a project manager and translator for a number of organizations; that’s when she first explored the world of WORDS. Al-Orjwan discovered how powerful a word can be and how it can affect both the writer and the reader.

Today, she is a passionate reader of Arabic literature. Her love for the two languages helps her “mix and match: between the two forms of expression. To her, reading, writing, drawing and painting are the most powerful remedies to life’s challenges.

Current as of December 2024

my work

When my young son asks me about his aunt, I say that she was too good to live in this evil world.
How do you keep your children safe from bombs and missiles and also from the knowledge that they are facing genocide?
I dreamt of creating my own family even before I understood what marriage was.
He awakens at 3 a.m., and it gives this man joy.
Thanking the people who have changed your life isn't always easy.
Gaza youth fight unemployment with startups.
The ugly secret is that sometimes women abuse other women.
When I heard the news of Razan's murder, my life stopped. Here is what she meant to me and to Gaza.
Ramadan feels totally different this year from the happy memories of my childhood. We're losing the taste for life.
Many Americans saw Fares' heroic photo on the front page of a DC newspaper. But they don't know the back story.
Everything is pointing in one direction—and while it may not be full-out war, it could look a lot like it.