22 April 2015
When Israel bombed Gaza for 51 days last summer, we who live here endured hard and terrible times, alternating between covering the situation on social media and trying to survive. Each day, we wondered if we would live to the next.
I tweeted and posted photos to describe and show the situation on the ground, but it wasn’t enough. I turned to Vine so people could also hear what we were going through.
My first post on Vine was on 2 August, almost one month into the Israeli assault. It recorded the incessant buzzing of Israel’s drones, which didn’t leave the sky for more than 50 days of war. It was a constant, threatening presence that never gave us a moment of peace.
I also took a Vine to show the faces of children taking shelter at a United Nations school in Jabaliya in Gaza’s north. These innocent children are already survivors, but have lost their homes forever.
After the war, I wanted to show life in Gaza in all aspects — the joyfully colorful rocks at Gaza’s seaport that stand in contrast to the gray landscape of destruction left by Israel’s bombs.
I also wanted to show Gaza’s fields of strawberries, which are exported abroad, because of the fruit’s delicious taste and vibrant red color.
These Vines mean a lot to me, because I want to deliver the message that people in Gaza love life, despite the horrors of Israel’s constant wars.
