Thirteen young men and women of Palestinian origin have joined the first Lebanon-based cohort of Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor’s project, We Are Not Numbers (WANN).

Euro-Med Monitor’s regional office in Beirut launched the project with induction day on March 21. The new writers were introduced to the six-month training program, which consists of intensive training focused on developing skills in creative essay writing, conducting interviews, documentation, public speaking, and other important storytelling topics. The participants will learn from a plethora of international experts and engage with other writers in the Palestinian territory.

The program culminates with participants writing essays under the guidance of their mentors. These essays are then published on the WANN website and the platforms of other media partners, which have broad international audiences.

The mission of WANN is to transform preconceived misconceptions frequently held by Western audiences about victims of armed conflicts as being little more than statistics. Essays produced by WANN writers highlight the shared humanity between Westerners and the people behind the numbers in the news, revealing the personalities,  talents, hopes, and dreams that are often obscured by the focus on numbers. The organization was launched in 2015.

In the induction session, the new cohort was introduced to the background and goals of the project and the expectations for new writers. Two writers from a previous Gaza-based cohort discussed their experiences with the program and offered advice for the new cohort.

“Writing something abstract but reader-friendly was something challenging and rather impossible for me,” Alia Kassab, a WANN writer from the 2022 cohort in Gaza, shared with the Lebanon group. “I’m glad my mentor guided me to produce my writing in the best way.”

Karam Hamed Jad, another writer from the Gaza-based cohort, said, “One of the important things WANN taught me, and will never leave my mind, is how complex writing a story is and, more importantly, how essential it is.” He continued, “Without commitment, you will never begin, and without consistency, you will never be able to finish writing your story.”

“We Are Not Numbers in Lebanon will equip determined youth with the proper skills and knowledge needed to excel in their careers and present the suffering of their societies to an international audience,” said Muhammed Mughabat, regional office director of Euro-Med Monitor in Lebanon.

“We Are Not Numbers does not underestimate the power that words have, instead we see these words as a weapon for young people living under oppression and inequality to amplify their voices and fight for their rights.”