we are not numbers
emerging writers from Palestine tell their stories and advocate for their human rights
The children of Gaza are forced too soon to be adults, but they still carve out time to play joyfully.
A boy rollerskating in war-damaged Gaza City. Photo: Farah Samer Zaina
These are the resistance kids of Gaza.
Everyone in Gaza resists the Israeli occupation in his or her own way. And the kids of Gaza have chosen roller skating as their form of resistance.
Their laughter, smiles, and faces light up the streets as they race to the highest point and whizz back down as fast as they can. And their calls to clear the way plant hope and happiness in everyone passing by.
Afternoons are their time; streets, their playground.
When the sun is gentle, you can see them all over the streets, enjoying colorful iced water, wearing shorts and cool roller skates, trying to imitate professionals, and bragging about their skills to the crowds. They make passersby their audience, and we cheer them on, encouraging our blossoming next generation.
Despite the dangers of bombings, devastated houses and buildings, tons of trash, shattered glass, shrapnel, mosquitos, disgusting smells, and the high risk of infection, the Gazan roller skaters insist on living, enjoying life, and brightening the days of those around them.
“Kids have a great talent of creating joyful games from nothing, even in war,” Khaled said, a 35-year-old father of a roller skater. “Watching my son inspires me to move forward.”
But there’s always the other side of the coin.
A clear road allow roller skaters to get up some speed. Photo: Farah Samer Zaina
Before October 7, 2023, poverty invaded the Strip. The ongoing blockade imposed countless limitations on Gazans and severely affected the economy. Many families could not afford basic necessities — electricity, water, and food — so kids dropped out of school to work and earn money, walking the streets to sell tissues or water bottles.
One late summer afternoon, I found a 9-year-old boy sitting, alone, on the street, trying to sell smaller children stories of Sinbad. It was 4 p.m., late afternoon.
Vulnerable, he shouldn’t have been sitting in the street. He should have been home, after school, building his dreams of becoming a doctor, an artist, a politician, a programmer. Whatever he wanted to be.
Since October 7, the number of children working has increased. Between 24,000 and 25,000 children in the Gaza Strip have lost one or both parents, according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.
Children bear the burden of supporting their families, replacing a father, a mother, or both, struggling to survive on their own.
“I am working to keep my family from starving to death,” said Salah, a 12-year-old boy selling bread.
I spoke to Sarah, a 10-year-old girl, weighed down with water gallons double her weight, lugging them to her home, back and forth: “I am exhausted.”
Zipping around in his roller skates at the Al-Sahaba market in Northern Gaza, 11-year-old Islam buys bread, milk, seasonings, and other necessities for his family. “I can’t walk long distances,” he said. “My roller skates help me get to the market, shop, and return home.”
Children of all ages work to help their families survive, continuing to resist and do their best, despite their mental and physical injuries.
Since October 7, the Israeli occupation has been killing their rights — robbing them of education, healthcare, treatment, safety, protection from child labor and murder, and much more. Yet the world remains silent, failing to take effective actions to rescue our children, betraying their human rights and denying their existence.
“If the world won’t give us our rights, we fight for them, and we take them.” Islam amazed me with his words before skating to the next vendor, and he was right.
‘The speed and breeze are freedom!’ Photo: Farah Samer Zaina
Many people have lost their homes and been displaced to live in tents, crowded houses, schools, and shelters. Many struggle emotionally, sparking stress between family members as they deal with the lack of essential supplies. Stress reaches the children, who run to the streets to avoid the problems at home.
Despite the danger of surveillance drones above their heads, the possibility of being targeted, and unexpected bombings, the children want to live a little and find happiness. You might wonder how they muster the courage to live and play under constant threat.
One of the kids, Dawood, said, “We climb to the highest point of the street and whizz down — the speed and breeze are freedom! Despite the destruction and garbage around us, we try to imagine we’re in an action movie like the ‘Hunger Games’ or the ‘Maze Runners,’ trying to be optimistic.”
These kids just want to play. When faced with harsh realities, they manipulate their minds and maintain their mental health by imagination.
Mohammed, Dawood’s friend, added, “I am playing to remember that I am a kid.”
The war has forced them to grow up too quickly.
And then, the shock. “I am a grown-up adult-kid,” said 14-year-old Taha, the oldest among them. Taha works very hard during the day, selling and providing for his family’s needs. Only sometimes does he manage to find time to play.
(left to right) Taha, Mohammed, and Dawood, roller skating with a fourth unidentified boy. Photo: Farah Samer Zaina
Instead of having a beautiful childhood, these young ones all became adult-kids.
The war has damaged them, but still they resist. “I have faced so much,” said Taha. “So tell Netanyahu despite his trying to kill me, I am still alive, making money at a very young age, enjoying my time, and laughing out loud under his surveillance drones.”
By roller skating, these kids are not just playing — they are resisting the occupation in their own way, whether they are aware of it or not, with their determination to live and thrive. Tough circumstances create tough individuals.
And again, if the world will not give us our rights, we fight for them, and we take them.
These are the tough kids of Gaza, roller skating their resistance.
