{"id":48417,"title":"Gaza, Palestine and the People the World is Losing","description":"When people hear \u201cGaza,\u201d the image that often comes to mind is one of conflict and destruction. But Gaza is more than rubble and headlines; it\u2019s a place full of life, beauty, heritage and spirit\u2026","content":"

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\"isjuogawqsaygpuq9jcvxc1jociyfidyig8cawynwkbj6ol5.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"When people hear \u201cGaza,\u201d the image that often comes to mind is one of conflict and destruction. But Gaza is more than rubble and headlines; it\u2019s a place full of life, beauty, heritage and spirit. It\u2019s home to people who have survived generations of loss and continue to create, hope and resist erasure.<\/p>

To understand Gaza today, it\u2019s helpful to know even just a tiny part of what has come before.<\/p>

What was the Nakba, and why is it still relevant?<\/strong><\/h3>

The Nakba, or \u201ccatastrophe,\u201d is the term Palestinians use to describe what happened in 1948, during and after the creation of the state of Israel. Over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled or forced to flee from their homes. More than 400 towns and villages were destroyed, their names erased from maps, their people made refugees.<\/p>

This was not a one-time event - it was the beginning of a reality that continues today. The Nakba never ended for Palestinians. Millions of people still live as refugees, many in places like Gaza, unable to return to their ancestral homes. Their right to return is internationally recognised, but continually denied.<\/p>

\"fjv0kuqwh6oydfyjie8ornck3bomfhjpnfkhoughlehtrokc.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=auto\"Gaza, in particular, became a refuge for those displaced by the Nakba. Families who once lived in cities like Jaffa, Haifa and Jerusalem now live in tightly packed camps, many without ever having set foot in the places their grandparents came from.<\/p>

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What has life in Gaza been like?<\/strong><\/h3>

Before 7 October 2023, life in Gaza was already incredibly difficult. The territory has been under a strict blockade by Israel (and partially by Egypt) since 2007. This blockade restricts movement, trade and access to basic needs like clean water, electricity and medical supplies. Youth unemployment was over 60% and over 80% of people relied on humanitarian aid to survive.<\/p>

But since 7 October 2023, Gaza has entered an unimaginable level of catastrophe.<\/p>

Following a deadly Hamas-led attack on that day in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched its most devastating assault on Gaza to date. The response has included airstrikes, ground invasions, the complete severing of electricity and fuel and the destruction of entire neighbourhoods, hospitals, schools ad refugee camps.<\/p>

According to humanitarian organisations and UN agencies:-<\/p>

  • Tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them women and children, have been killed.<\/p><\/li>

  • Hundreds of thousands have been injured or displaced, often multiple times.<\/p><\/li>

  • There is a growing famine in northern Gaza.<\/p><\/li>

  • Over 70% of Gaza\u2019s infrastructure has been destroyed on rendered uninhabitable.<\/p><\/li>

  • Journalists, doctors and aid workers have been killed in record numbers.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

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    What\u2019s happening now is not just a humanitarian crisis, it is a cultural and human loss on a mass scale.<\/strong><\/h2>

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    But Gaza is not just a tragedy; it\u2019s a place of beauty.<\/strong><\/h3>

    At the moment, it\u2019s hard to remember that Gaza isn\u2019t only a place of conflict and suffering. However, there are many other things which make Gaza extraordinary:-<\/p>

    1. A Culture That Endures<\/p>

    Despite generations of dispossession, Palestinians hold tightly to their traditions. Traditional embroidered garments (thobes), oral storytelling, folk music and poetry. These are not relics; they are living, breathing parts of everyday life. Families pass down recipes, songs and stories as a way of saying: We are still here.<\/p>

    In an article called Resistance and the Palestinian Folk Song<\/u><\/a>, scholar Shaimaa Abulebda writes about a particular song translated as Hey, You, Climbing Up The Mountain. The words of this song, a \u201ccall for resistance and freedom\u201d originally sung by women visiting imprisoned men, often incorporated additional vocal tweaks in order to obscure their message from eavesdropping jailers.<\/p>

    Folk songs such as this have relied on vocal reproduction across generations as they were not originally recorded in writing. Thanks to the internet, they can now be recorded electronically and shared across the world.<\/p>