we are not numbers

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

Khaled Mohammed Alhajahmed

    Khaled Mohammed Alhajahmed is an English student at the Islamic University of Gaza. Before joining the university, he traveled to the United Kingdom with his family while his father was earning a Ph.D. in translation at the University of Salford in Manchester.

    Khaled says he likes writing because “through writing we can let the world to know about our case and the suffering we are experiencing due to the occupation and the siege. I also like to write because practicing writing can help me develop other English-language skills.”

    He likes writing stories from Palestine that address the social, political, and economic situation of people living in Gaza. “This is the type of writing through which we let the world get closer to what is going on in Gaza, a city that has been under the siege for more than 15 years, and a city that has seen four wars since 2009.

    “We will keep writing as writing is the key to making the world know about Gaza, Jerusalem, and other Palestinian cities and villages. We will keep writing until we end the occupation and get our independence.”

    A young man in front of a column in a museum exhibit hall.

    my work

    Happy years spent in the United Kingdom are a stark contrast to the hard circumstances back home in Gaza.
    And yet war recurred in Gaza once again, causing many of us to dream of a safer place, a haven free of fear.