When the war broke out, I was just beginning my third year of university English translation studies. My life was completely destroyed by the atrocity, which destroyed my dreams, erased colors, and destroyed my spirit. My life and career’s center of focus and ambition has come to an end. Despite unprecedented destruction, Gaza itself came to a standstill.
My family and I have suffered a lot during this war, just like all families in Gaza. We lost our health and sense of stability after two years of genocide. We were forced to flee ten times, starting with Khan Younis in the south, Rafah, and then Deir el-Balah in the center of Gaza. We left Gaza City after more than a year, only to find ourselves relocating to Khan Younis eight months later. We are now forced to live there because our house was severely damaged, using tarpaulins instead of walls.
Universities reopened in the summer of 2024, but only for online courses. I registered because I wanted to finish what I had already begun, not because I still believed I could work as a teaching assistant.
I used unstable internet to complete my third year, which was supposed to prepare me for a future lecturer.
My senior year officially began in February. We were struck by famine a few months later. Due to the displacement, lack of food, and persistent fear of bombing, my health began to deteriorate. In a sudden, unhealthy weight loss, I lost nearly 15 kg. Due to a lack of food, my body became frail and I was constantly feeling lightheaded. We once had hardly enough food for a baby when we only had one meal in the middle of the day. As the famine worsened, I could see that my collarbones were catching on more prominently.
Additionally, I began to notice my family members losing a lot, especially my mother. I had the feeling that we were about to lose her in some situations. I feared the hunger I would experience going into bed after 8 o’clock.
Despite all the difficulties, I chose to fight back against the war. I kept reminding myself that the “now” is everything and that Gaza is the land of everything.
I made the decision to start my own project one night: I could charge phones or light them if I couldn’t light minds with knowledge. My family and I discussed the idea of starting a small solar panel-powered phone charging project, which they both supported to the fullest. My career as a phone-charging business owner started the day after I wrote “Phone Charging Point” on a piece of paper outside our tent.
To make sure no phones were lost, I made numbered cards that I attached to each phone. How come the voices that rang out, “Shahed, how’s phone number 7,” kept coming in my days? I would make fun of myself outside, but inside, I would feel terribly ache, like I couldn’t possibly imagine how my senior year of college would go.
I had final exams, too many phones, and cloudy weather. Since I didn’t have a large battery for storage, every passing cloud that blocked the sun would shut off the power supply. I cried from exhaustion and helplessness at those times.
I made around $10 per day, enough to purchase internet cards and inexpensive items like a box of juice and a packet of chips. As I sat there, juggling the charging of the phones, I would wonder if that was actually my time as a university teaching assistant.
I had tears streaming down my face as I took my final exams in October while surrounded by uncharted phones.
In Gaza, there are countless young people who refuse to let the war dictate our stories.
The occupation sought to obliterate education because it is our form of resistance. It intended to plunge us into the depths of ignorance, repentance, and dejection.
Yet, Gaza’s youth remain unbeaten. We have battled persistent internet blackouts to continue our education online. We try our best to support both our families and ourselves by starting small businesses, some of which sell food in small street stands, others offer private tutoring, and others.
Many people are submitting scholarships to pursue their education abroad.
All of this demonstrates how passionately Gaza’s youth are about rebuilding their country, not just as it was before, but even better.
I’m now submitting an application for master’s scholarships outside of Gaza. I want to travel abroad, study, and then return the following day to recharge my brains rather than my phones. My younger brother Anas, whose career goal is to be a journalist, will receive my small phone charging project if I’m accepted so that I can tell the truth about Gaza and its people.
He, I, and the rest of our peers in Gaza refuse to give up.
Source: Aljazeera
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