we are not numbers

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

Hossam Madhoun

    Hossam is the founder of Gaza's Theater for Everybody, which has a goal of producing dramatic productions appealing to a broad population. Due to the dire conditions in Gaza, productions are rare these days. Instead, he and his partner have dedicated their energies to drama  and other types of therapy programs for traumatizedc children at a local nonprofit for which he is a project coordinator. However, through a collaboration with London's Az Theatre, Hossam is working with We Are Not Numbers youth to produce drama vignettes shared with audiences overseas. "I am not a writer, I am a theater maker, but from time to time I write," he says. However, we think you'll agree he is a gifted poet. 

    my work

    The audience asked what freedom means to us. Freedom?! It is to be free from fear.
    Whenever I see Gaza in the media, I don’t recognize it; It is so different from what I know and live.
    The Gaza I know is not what is portrayed in the media. The Gaza I know is full of life, and all that life can contain: pain, happiness, success and failure, despair and hope, dark and light.
    Here we are, we who are still alive after the war
    When fears of war swirl, the people of Gaza see no way out.
    In the war, like in every war, sadness prevails…
    In these days, all that I am trying to do is not remember the war.
    War is so much more than numbers.