The following extracts are from the book, Gaza Girl: The Gaza Diaries, a book written by a seventeen-year-old girl living in Gaza.
In a unique collaboration, she has been communicating with Northampton and UK-based storytellers. The book is available to buy online and proceeds will go to Hala and her family to help rebuild her shattered life and help buy vital resources.
To buy the book visit the link: https://ko-fi.com/s/b1db673c55
Hala: the halo around the moon
My given name, Hala, means the aura of light surrounding the moon.
Hala: the halo around the moon
Perhaps it is my destiny that the moon be my most faithful companion. I hope to reflect her light on my homeland, then on the world.
I often hesitate to write a book. I fear starting something I may not be able to complete.
My life is in constant danger, at every moment. Something shocking always happens.
A voice pierces my ears, dust and screams, ending with a child or a girl my age being orphaned, a mother losing her children or her husband. The martyr is carried in his shroud and escorted to a funeral, but today, funerals are not held. Burial is in a mass grave. If your body is found intact, they might only find a hand or a leg, or your family might identify you, and you might be buried with other remains.
I apologize, reader, but this is just a small part of my life.
Everything changes in life and this scares me. I am a young girl, I make mistakes & learn from them. I grow, then the next shock arrives……
My dream? To look up at the night sky with happy eyes, to see the stars shining brighter than ever, and to no longer see the planes in the sky that frighten me, so I can’t differentiate between them.
To feel this warmth on cold days, covered in my blanket, and listen to the sound of rain as I sit on my bed with a cup of coffee in the beautiful cup given to me by my friend who has gone to a better place.
My Reality
My reality has always been in stark contrast to my dreams. I’ve always tried, strived, struggled, hoped, and worked hard, but the bitter reality has always come in steps completely different from what I dreamed of. I just wanted to feel present in this life, to live as I wanted and wished, in the way I wanted and chose, and not to lose any of my dearly beloved friends.
How many times have I experienced such trauma during this bloody war? How many more traumas do I have left to experience? These heartbreaking scenes are still etched in my mind. I cannot forget those who bled to death before my eyes without the slightest help, without any human intervention. The feeling of helplessness nearly kills us. All this is because of a brutal occupier. Even safe shelters have become targets for their brutality. I am tired of my inability to help my fellow citizens, even a little. I am tired of my helplessness.
The blood spilled on the bodies of the people of Gaza is not a Halloween costume. It is real human blood. The broken faces of the people of Gaza are not Frankenstein’s masks, but the faces of real people.
My Hopes
I don’t dream of a perfect life! I only think of waking up in a safe place. I think of a beautiful kitchen, a warm space, a beautiful balcony. Books on the shelves, some flowers and plants. The smell of baking and coffee filling the air. Warm movie nights and beautiful music playing in the background.
I’d feel happy with something quiet, simple and peaceful. We live under the same sun, and breathe the same air. But we live in different circumstances.
In Gaza, we live in roofless houses. We live in the shadow of war, terrorism, atrocities, or days of horror. This is what we see every day before our eyes.
I have to study under the bombardment to make it through and achieve the grade point that qualifies me for university.
The dark night passed and the sun shone again.
Listen to the audio track to the left:
To buy the book visit the link here:
https://ko-fi.com/s/b1db673c55
For the last 10 months or so a group of UK-based storytellers have been communicating with a 17-year-old girl living in Gaza, encouraging her to share her thoughts, her dreams, her fears and experiences with us via Facebook Messenger. The book is illustrated with the Gaza Girl’s own photographs.
The Gaza Diaries are the result of that – please donate whatever you can, the proceeds will go to making more copies of the book available and the profits will go to the Gaza Girl and her family to help with getting back to some kind of normal life. As of May 2025 Gaza is in phase 4 famine. Direct donations help buy much-needed resources such as medicine, food and water.
To buy the book, visit the link here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b1db673c55
