Nadera Mushtha used a blackboard to teach students (2024). Photo provided by Nadera Mushtha

For more than two years after the genocide began in October 2023, no paper or pens entered the Gaza Strip. Israel justified its blockade of writing materials on the grounds that they were not life-saving like food or medicine, but instead were “non-essential.”

Only a relatively small amount of writing materials that was already inside Gaza was available, at many times the normal price. 

In addition, educational establishments had to ask students sitting exams to pay fees for paper on top of the usual semester fees. Even new schools founded after the mass destruction had to impose these charges.

I was a student during the genocide, taking four semesters of education during bombing and displacement, so I faced what younger students — even those in kindergarten — are facing still.

I worried the younger generation would lose their passion for studying, so I started teaching students in a small room in my home. The lack of paper, pens, and pencils was a problem, so I wrote questions with chalk on a blackboard.

During the current, second phase of the ceasefire, Israel still categorizes education as a non-vital or unimportant activity, which means that writing materials remain in short supply.

Also during the genocide, most school books were lost as a result of burning, bombing, or deliberate destruction by the occupation. Students had to print school and university texts at an exorbitant cost — close to a dollar per page, or even higher.

Many students were forced to study using their computers and phones instead of textbooks, despite the lack of electricity or stable internet connection. Over time, most students’ computers, vital for downloading important programs and writing papers, homework, or exams, have become obsolete. However, computers fall under the “dual-use” category, meaning that Israel restricts their entry because it claims they could be used for both civilian and military purposes. Students must struggle to keep going with their old devices.

Because the occupation knows that Gaza gives birth to scientists, they use the same “dual-use” excuse to prevent us from having the scientific equipment we need. Engineering students cannot now find any equipment to use in their university assignments.

In these ways Israel blocks huge numbers of students from receiving an education.

Israel wants our youth to be silent. They hate pens and pencils because they allow us, even without access to electricity or the internet, to continue writing truth and sending it out into the world.

The death of Gaza City hurt us. Anyone who is in pain may be prompted to write, and their writing becomes like a miracle, a means of survival and healing. If this is true of one person, how powerful will the story be when told by many people over several generations? That is why they want to prevent us from writing.

Do tools like these frighten the occupation? Pens and pencils are not used to build tunnels or as weapons. Students just want to be able to hand over their assignments to their teachers and get a good grade.

Whoever has a love of education and culture instilled in them will never forget what they love, and the banning of paper and pens will not shape the next generation into what Israel wants. This genocide, painful as it is, has trained even the youngest among us to express what is in our hearts in a powerful way that affects the world. Even the youngest now know where to publish their stories — this is what frightens Israel.

Israel doesn’t just hate that we write, they hate that we are educated and that many among us have advanced degrees. This is why they have killed so many professors, doctors, intellectuals, and educated people. And this is why they try to stop us writing in any way they can.

If they thought we could fly, they would probably deprive us of air.