we are not numbers

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

‘My body at night rebels from all the deaths and anger. I drip sweat. I wake to my sweat like a waterfall on my body and I smell death.’

My mind is tormented: How can I lead a normal life, how can I celebrate, when everyone in Gaza is suffering?

It’s all I have when we are separated for years at a time.

Abdul Raouf is 43 years old. He was imprisoned at 27.

We cannot forget the past, but we can choose to live in the present.

I could no longer wait for change. So I set out to make it happen.

I have found freedom abroad, but am fated to be an exile forever.

It was a beautiful love story, a miracle that brought two lovers together despite all obstacles. Until the reality of borders interceded.