she lived her life for others / nobody ever thanked her

Shaimaa’s father could not hold her hand on her wedding day.

The constant buzz of Israeli quadcopters is a sinister and threatening background to life in Gaza.

Children who lost parents before 2023 are not eligible for the emergency assistance available to post-war orphans.

The ground was silent that morning / Not empty / silent.

Grief, loss, and fear have destroyed the possibility of celebrating what should be the happiest occasions.

Her inspiration, support, and love have helped me persevere through momentous challenges to obtain my master’s degree

How can an entire city become ‘past’? How can it be written so simply, as if it had never been a living place, filled with people?

‘No life without my family / No mornings without my sun, without my home.’

When I look at photos of my beloved cousins, it reminds me that I wasn’t there to comfort or honor them when they were martyred.

Just as my grandfather was forced off his land in 1948, we were forced from ours in 2025. We live with the hope of returning to our home, as he hoped to return to his.

The Israeli army enforcing the so-called “yellow” line, and the Palestinian militias positioned in our neighborhood, prevent us from returning home.