Stories
In May 2022, WANN published 11 stories, articles, and poems.
Yahya’s travels with kidney disease
May 7, 2022 | WANN’s community outreach officer, Walaa Sabbah, writes about 12-year-old Yehia’s treatment journey for kidney failure and struggle to get good care despite the blockade.
Shireen Abu Akleh – The Palestinian voice assassinated by Israel
May 12, 2022 | Issam Idwan’s article on veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s assassination was originally published at Mondoweiss and then republished on WAAN website.
Shireen Abu Akleh didn’t “die”
May 13, 2022 | WANN board member Ahmed Alnaouq writes about the biased coverage in the Western media’s reporting on Shireen Abu Akleh’s assassination.
May 14, 2022 | Fedaa Alsoufi composes a poem about her late cousin, Ali Mohammed Khfaja, who was killed during the Great March of Return in 2018.
From witness to martyr: Shireen Abu Akleh
May 15, 2022| Ahmed Alwahidi comments on the assassination of Al Jazeera’s correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh.
Mrs. Susan planted the seeds for my success
May 20, 2022 | Farah Zakout describes how a teacher positively affected her life after her mother passed away.
A Palestinian-Palestinian friendship
May 20, 2022 | Maram Faraj writes about her extraordinary online friendship.
May 20, 2022 | Lene Hazboun describes her desire to express herself.
May 24, 2022| Kholoud Balata shares her terrifying experiences in the most recent Israeli aggression on Gaza.
May 28, 2022 | Atta Khaled describes his first experience traveling outside Gaza.
May 30, 2022 | Nada Almadhoun explains her passion for painting.
See all stories.
Events
WANN helps build up our writers, through writing of course, but also through educational, civic and cultural activities.
New class of writers accepted into WANN
During a busy month-long process, the WANN team read 200+ applications for participating in WANN’s 2022 cohort. Palestinian youth living in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem and the diaspora, applied. We interviewed 78 applicants and accepted 35. Activities began on the first of June.
Gaza Thinks Initiative
WANN launched the Gaza Thinks Initiative, part of the Rethink, Reconnect the Med Campaign. This four-day activity was funded by the European Union, and it was organized and led by Menna Hijazi, a WANNer and leader of the Med Dialogue for Rights and Equality Programme in Gaza, Palestine.
On the first day, WANN participants learned how to employ critical thinking skills in combating misinformation and stereotypes. They also learned about claiming their right to own their narrative.
The participants learned about the different stages of writing a policy paper. Then they worked within groups to draft a paper entitled, Combating Misinformation and Stereotypes on the Basis of Geographic Origins In Palestine.
On the third day, the participants worked on a final draft of the policy paper and determined recommendations and a time frame for implementation of those recommendations.
On the final day of the initiative, the participants visited the offices of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Gaza Center Malaysian, and the WFP office in Gaza.
Through this process, participants honed their skills in critically analyzing information; combating fake news, misinformation, and false stereotypes; and making use of a variety of tools to advocate for the right to own the narrative.
Tour provided to Amos Trust team
After two years of Zoom meetings, WANN participants met in person with the Amos Trust team.
The Amos team, which had previously worked with WANN to film a virtual tour of Gaza, succeeded in breaking through the siege to come to Gaza City in person. With the team of WANN, a virtual tour was turned into an actual one! On May 20, the Amos Trust team visited all the places presented in the film, including Abo Zuhair, Al Omary mosque, the Gold Market (Zhahab Market), and Al-Sawwaf for handmade carpets.
Solidarity with assassinated journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
After Israeli snipers assassinated veteran Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11 in Jenin, our writers expressed solidarity with Shireen by posting on social media platforms, writing articles, and interacting with the hashtag #ShireenAbuAkleh.
I am 22 years old, I lost 22 people
WANN participated in covering an exhibition implemented jointly by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor and the UN Women Palestine. The exhibit, entitled, “I am 22 years old, I lost 22 people,” relates the story of Zainab Al-Qawlaq, a survivor of an Israeli airstrike on Gaza in May 2022.
Visit to the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-detainees
Our writers visited the Ministry of Detainees and Ex-detainees and met many former detainees and their families to deepen the writers’ knowledge of their suffering and the courageous ways they resisted imprisonment.
In a related matter, the Ministry of Detainees recently conducted an essay contest, which aims to shed light on the detainees’ and ex-detainees’ experiences. Eleven of our writers participated in this contest. A book of essays is forthcoming.
Delegation from the Carter Center
On May 25 WANN staff received two visitors from the Carter Center, a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Country Representative Qais Sami As’ad and Political Affairs Officer Naser Khdour met with us to talk about ways we can work together to lift the voice of Palestinian youth in American society, particularly in college campuses.
In addition, two of our writers participated in a workshop sponsored by the Carter Center on the impact of youth in raising awareness in the Arab Region.
A new member joins WANN staff
As part of our mission to give to WANNers the chance to learn more and to be connected to a wider network, the WANN team announced an opening for a new part-time project assistant to work on a volunteer basis. After an extensive interview process, Ahmed Al-Sammak was selected to serve as the new project assistant. Welcome, Ahmed
Who wrote this?
This activities report was prepared by Ahmed Al-Sammak, WANN’s new project assistant. He joined WANN in 2021 and has published three stories on its website.
Ahmed has been a freelance journalist for almost five years, and he contributes to many international news websites including Middle East Eye and The Electronic Intifada.
