Wejdan signing her book at the European Palestinian Network conference, January 31, 2026. Photo: EPN

The European Palestinian Network (EPN) has just released “They Can’t Kill the Stars,” a book written by We Are Not Numbers writer Wejdan Wejdy Abushammala. Wejdan has collected several firsthand testimonies from individuals who have lived through bombardment, displacement, and loss, and chose to speak not for sympathy, but to protect their stories from disappearance. In telling their stories, she asks readers not just to feel sorrow, but to truly see, and to carry this memory forward.

The book was launched in Copenhagen at the January 31, 2026, EPN Conference, attended by over 1,000 people coming from 24 different countries. The EPN and its annual conference bring together academics, journalists, civil society organizations, policymakers, and grassroots movements from across Europe and Palestine with the goal of strengthening transnational solidarity and cooperation.

In an onstage interview, Wejdan told delegates “I wrote this book because the people in these pages are human beings like you. […] They spoke, through their tears, because they believed that the people in the world would listen.”

She added, “It’s natural to feel sad, to feel angry, or, even, to feel helpless. But, I hope that you also will feel responsible. Genocide thrives on silence.”

Alongside Wael Al-Dahdouh and Wesam Hamada, Wejdan was presented with an EPN award for “bearing witness and preserving testimony.”

Wejdan holds her award for bearing witness and preserving testimony. Photo: EPN