I just arrived home
Gaza [insert heart emoji]
I took my family to the beach
it was lovely
[insert no news from the US]
[insert news from
Electronic Intifada &
Al Jazeera]
I am shocked
Thank you for asking
[insert heart emoji]
I am at home
We just broke the siege [to]
Reaffirm our right to resist
Our right to exist
I am in Gaza
Gaza is strong
Gaza is suffering
Yes no electricity
but we still have power
generators
But soon we will be out
of electricity
I am in Gaza
We are fucked so far
But we will survive
I hope we will survive
The human being
is a dirty creature
I am not sure
if we will come out
of all this
alive
Let us see
I love you
For asking about me
Habibtee
[insert two heart emojis]
This is today
[insert picture of boy held
in his father’s arms
the boy dimples his secure]
I left the clothes
I left the house
I don’t know if I
[can/will] return
Because
they are talking about
a complete demolishing
of Gaza
Does the world know
the truth?
We have the right to do
what we have done
To end the occupation
To end the siege
At the end I love Gaza
I love my life here
We will build Gaza
again
Now as we speak
there is an attack
Very close
I can’t capture it
It is too dark
No place to go
Home is the safest place
There is no safe place
I can smell the bombing &
missile
powder
[insert audio of bombing]
[insert audio of footsteps
shifting glass and rubble]
They attack at night
I don’t think
those rallies will stop
what is going on
here
Hello World
[insert the story of
Ahamed Handala writing
from occupied Palestine
specifically, Gaza]
[insert story of two
children and a marriage]
[insert story of studies abroad
and return home to Gaza]
[insert story of a family displaced
in 1948 from Ashdod]
[insert story of a family falling
in love with Gaza]
What did they expect
from people living
under siege?
This is how we filled up
water today
[insert photo of people
with plastic buckets]
[insert video of a boy between
two walls & his father’s voice
saying: How are you? &
I love you in English &
murmuring endearments
in Arabic]
[insert video of
a father’s hand reaching
to press the cheeks
of a son]
There is no way to go
We have over eighty persons
in our family building
They came to Rafah
from Gaza City
I wish I can write
I want to write a post
for my university in the UK
and post it on LinkedIn
I am sitting with my family
Don’t worry
They are talking
about troop invasion
The warplanes are hovering
at a very low altitude
[insert video of 150,000 souls
marching in the streets of London]
I hope they can stop the
troop invasion
I am still awake
It is calm now
This is so strange
I don’t know what
is being cooked
[insert recipients
new iPhone dying
for 24 hours after last text]
[insert the bombing
of Al-Ahli Arab Hospital]
[insert reports of the dead]
[insert no reports of their names]
I washed after two days
It is a battle for survival
in a dystopian world
I am alive so far
[insert report of statements
of support but no support
from a Crown Prince]
I can’t think now too much
This is too much for me to think about
I am fine and my family is well
[insert heart emoji]
[insert well wishes from
the Pulitzer winning author
recently cancelled for saying
the word Palestine]
Thank you
Tell him we are strong!
[insert video of mass funeral
the people are shouting:
We are the people
We will not leave this land
until the last drop of our blood
is gone. We are going forward
with our resistance]
[insert social media post
about the speaker of this poem]
I love you [insert heart emoji]
I am speechless [insert heart emoji]
I love what you wrote [insert heart emoji]
Could you please remove the photo
of my family? [insert two heart emojis]
There is someone who commented
on your post about “civilians”
Does not this “civilian” know
that they are living in a colonial state
that oppresses people in another part?
Do they not know of the suffering
of the people of Gaza?
What do they expect
from those who are oppressed?
Are they ignorant?
This is my friend living close
to me He was killed
along with his daughter & his wife
[insert photograph of a young man
his hair is slicked back &
he has black wire rimmed glasses &
he sports a neat beard. He is smiling.
It is a selfie]
Everything and everyone is
a target
Me too
I don’t trust
anyone
If you want to help
help Yahya
He is stuck &
his home was destroyed
I hope to stay here for long
Alhamdullah
I am so mad
This is insane
Habibtee
Thanks for asking
[insert video of buildings
exploding]
[insert image of buildings
exploding &
an arrow pointing down]
Can you see the explosion?
This is where I lived in Gaza City
Thankfully I evacuated the apartment
on the first day [insert sad face emoji]
I saw the Congress
So
They are not going to let
humanitarian aid in?
Hey
[insert pulsing heart emoji]
What supplies?
Nothing has entered yet
Even though there are so many
in need of them
[insert reports of shadow
blocking & censorship &
cancelled events & & &]
Yes yes I know
they want to block the truth
This is an existential battle for them
so they want to destroy everything
Inshallah
But this battle will go on
I feel we are in the end of our days
Every night they only kill children
[insert crying emoji]
Now they are attacking
another hospital
[insert text from the Director
of Al-Quds hospital announcing
orders to evacuate]
Now they are attacking nearby
as we speak
Please
see this
I used to hang out on that street I love Gaza
I miss Gaza City
[Insert crying emoji]
It has been two weeks
Inshallah [insert heart emoji]
They are attacking near
Rafah border
Fuck Egypt
Cowards
I swear a lot on my FB page
about Egypt
In another post I also said
Fuck you Rishi Sunak
A UN Peace-Keeping Force?
I was thinking about this
Gaza is the responsibility of Israel
[insert fact: an occupying force
is entrusted with safeguarding
a civilian population]
They consider Gaza as part
of the Palestinian Authority
though the Palestinian Authority
has no authority over Gaza
Egypt is complicit &
a UNPKF is between countries
It is just ink on papers
[insert photo of NYT announcing
a small load of aid from Russia]
Fuck them
We don’t need this stuff
It is not enough
For Gaza
[insert question about a word
the speaker of this poem used
to say when he stayed
in the home of the writer
of this poem. The filler-word
dragged out for the pauses between
two thoughts.]
Yani [insert smiling face emoji
with a drop of sweat]
I am living inside a crime
scene I smell only death
I just lost some of my friends
just now [insert sad face emoji]
My imam who taught me
the Quoran just got killed [
insert sad face emoji]
Inshallah I will survive
I believe everything
that has happened
is happening
and will happen
has already been written
in a big book by Allah
I am no longer afraid
