My grandmother Naifa al-Sawada was born in June 1932.
A beautiful girl with blue eyes, she was the only daughter to her parents. They were originally from Gaza but moved to nearby Bir al-Saba, where Naifa’s father Rizq worked as a merchant.
She did well at school and in 1947 obtained the necessary certificate from the British – then the rulers of Palestine – to attend university.
She did not do so, however. Her father was fearful about what could happen to her at a time when war in Palestine appeared imminent.
At a young age, she married my grandfather Salman al-Nawaty and went to live in Gaza.
Between 1947 and 1949, Zionist forces expelled approximately 800,000 Palestinians from their homes.
Among those directly affected by the Nakba – Arabic for catastrophe – were Naifa’s own parents, who fled their home in Bir al-Saba for Gaza.
Having witnessed the Nakba, Naifa encouraged her own children to defend Palestine.
Naifa gave birth to four girls and six boys.Like so many mothers in Gaza, she experienced great loss.
Her son Moataz went missing while traveling to Jerusalem in 1982. It is still not known what happened to him.
Another son Moheeb, a journalist, left Palestine for Norway in 2007. Three years later he traveled to Syria.
In January 2011, he went missing.
The Syrian authorities subsequently confirmed to the Norwegian diplomatic service that he was imprisoned. But he has not been allowed to contact his family.We do not know his current whereabouts or even if he is alive or dead.
My grandmother witnessed the first intifada from 1987 and 1993.
On the streets around her, youngsters with stones and slingshots rose up against armed Israeli soldiers in tanks and military jeeps.
During that time, her son Moheeb – the aforementioned journalist – was held for more than a year without charge or trial. That infamous practice is called administrative detention.
My grandmother lived close to al-Shifa, Gaza’s largest hospital.
She took great care of arranging everything in her home with her delicate hands. She used those same hands to comb her hair into braids.
She memorized the Quran and took great interest in the education of her children and grandchildren.
On 21 March this year, Israeli troops broke into my grandmother’s home.
The soldiers displayed immense brutality.
They ordered the women in our family to evacuate on foot and arrested the men. They would not allow the women to take my grandmother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, with them.
The soldiers claimed that my grandmother would be safe. That was a lie.
The invasion of my grandmother’s house took place amid Israel’s siege on al-Shifa hospital.
My grandmother’s house was destroyed during that siege and she was killed. Her remains were found days after the Israeli troops eventually withdrew from the hospital earlier this month.
She was killed – alone – in the same house where she had lived since 1955.
We do not know if she suffered or if she died quickly.
We do know that she was older than Israel’s merciless occupation.
There are images of decomposed bodies wearing what appear to be scrubs... with their hands tied. Meaning they were executed while bound. I will not be sharing them because I'm tired of showing our martyrs' bodies to people.
Everyone should follow what's happening at Columbia right now. This is the largest protest there since 1968, and the admin just stripped several students of healthcare and housing.
The NYPD arrested over 108 students camping on the South Lawn yesterday. Now, thousands have joined the demonstration. As Israel prepares to commit genocide, Palestinian and Jewish students are taking the lead in protesting institutional complicity around the world.
I'm reaching out to share our story amidst the chaos and resilience in Gaza. Our family has been hit hard by the brutal impacts of war, forcing us out of our beloved home, now just rubble.
[Support Link: GFM: gofund.me/7489c83c]
#RebuildHope #Gaza
I'm Ahmed, a 24-year-old law student in Gaza, with dreams and aspirations. Known for my empathy and belief in community, I'm all about staying positive despite the challenges.
Our family, including my parents and siblings, symbolizes strength in the face of adversity. We're currently living in a simple tent, with no food or safety, constantly under threat of airstrikes.
Memories of our past life haunt us as we struggle to come to terms with the aftermath of war, not just losing our homes but also our dreams for a better future. 💔
Despite the constant fear of airstrikes, our spirits remain unbroken. And hey, amidst the loss, our cat Lisa is still kicking, which brings us some joy.
We're hoping to find a safe haven outside Gaza, away from the turmoil. Your support is our ray of hope. Together, we can rebuild our lives. 🥹🙏🏻😔
This is the link to the Tweet of my story on Twitter
The thing is that getting Palestine free is both very difficult but not as difficult as getting South Africa free. South Africa had more resources than Israel does, it could hold out so much longer and still the apartheid was ended by people working tirelessly and boycotting and pushing for divestment and sanctions. These methods will work for freeing Palestine too.
I know it doesn't feel like there have been many successes, but all the politicians are feeling the pressure. Pressure that we are able to sustain and even increase as we come up with new initiatives and convince new people to join.
One of the reasons they're resisting our pressure so strongly is because they know that when we see gains we will push harder, we will continue to push until the stones falling becomes a rock fall and Palestine's freedom is secured. They know if we get a taste of the power we can wield we'll turn that onto freeing Congo too. They know we're unhappy and have been for a long time and their very secure system starts to look a lot less secure when we start mobilising to change things.
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