In April 2023, We Are Not Numbers (WANN) published seven stories. WANNers participated in two training sessions and five activities.
Stories
2 April, 2023 | Rania Tawfiq Abu Taima | Even the occupation cannot stop Palestinian families from nurturing and harvesting their beloved olive trees.
“Reading is not a crime”: The Gazan who collects newspapers
April 3, 2023 | Ahmed Dremly | Reading is not only a way to stay informed, but it is a very enjoyable hobby.
Israel’s ‘Psychological Warfare’ against Palestinian prisoners’ families
April 18, 202 3 | Mahmoud Wadie Mushtaha | Palestinian families live the pain of being distanced from their imprisoned sons in the occupation prisons.
April 22, 2023 | Raneem Abdu | I am happy for my freedom to travel in Türkiye, but I carry with me anguish over the freedom denied to my homeland.
April 23, 2023| Malak Reyad Alhaw | So much beauty in the Dome of the Rock! And yet Gazans are restricted from worshiping in this magic place.
‘Like an earthquake’ is living in frequently targeted sites in Gaza
April 24, 2023 | Nada Hazem Al Kahlout | The Israeli bombing kills tranquility of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
‘Pray for the Prisoners’: When freedom arrives too late for some
April 30, 2023 | Mahmoud Alyazji | ‘I said, that’s it. I will spend the rest of my life surrounded by these walls. I’ll die here.”
Activities
Gaza Portal program
In partnership with shared studios and UN Live, WANN participated in the Gaza Portal program, which aims for cultural exchange between Palestinian and Western societies. WANNers participated via video link with young people from outside Palestine, with whom they discussed theatre and literature from around the world.
We breathe freedom
WANNers visited an exhibit about detainees in Gaza entitled “We breathe freedom.” They met with released detainees and listened to their harrowing stories of captivity in Israeli jails. The exhibit included many materials related to the detainee issue, including books, pictures, paintings, and letters written by detainees themselves.
Training Sessions
Advanced structural writing rules and punctuation
WANNers attended a session conducted by Dr. Ihab Suliman, who highlighted common mistakes in writing and ways to avoid them. He presented several examples of sentences with grammatical and punctuation mistakes and how to correct them.
Editing
Jen Marlow, an award-winning author, filmmaker, playwright, and human rights activist, focused on techniques for serving as your own first editor by reviewing a draft and identifying ways to improve it. She shared essays by WANNers to highlight the excellent writing this project produces. She also presented examples of writing with grammatical errors, for group practice.
Components of a strong essay
WANNers had the opportunity to hear from Alice Rothchild and Catherine Baker, who discussed the components of a good essay. They highlighted favorite essays from the website and explained what made these essays effective. WANNers also had the opportunity to highlight the WANN essays they liked and offer their opinions on what makes them work.
Alice Rothchild is WANN’s mentor coordinator. She is an American author and human rights activist. Catherine Baker is WANN’s senior editor. She is a writer and works for Palestinian human rights through several organizations.
The world of journalism
A session was held for the new WANNers with Dr. Ramzy Baroud, a Palestinian American journalist and the editor of The Palestine Chronicle. Baroud presented on the different types of journalism and discussed with the writers how to address present Palestine in the Western media.
The Palestinian presence in the media
WANN conducted a session featuring Philip Weiss, founder and editor of Mondoweiss. Mr. Weiss discussed the significance of the Palestinian presence in the media. He emphasized the impact of Palestinian’s personal stories on the Western audience’s understanding of the Palestinian cause. Additionally, writers in attendance at this session sought Mr. Weiss’s guidance on effectively addressing Western media in journalism.
Who wrote this?
This activity report was prepared by Nada Shaat. She joined WANN this year, 2023. She studies digital media at the Islamic University,is studying to be a journalist, and is a member of the Media Committee in the university’s Journalism Department. Her hobbies include reading, writing, and presenting in front of the camera.
