Refaat Alareer has an MA in Comparative Literature from University College, London University, and teaches at the Islamic University of Gaza. ‘telling stories is an act of life and resistance’ Elham Hilles, for example, writes: “Writing is way of resistance through which I attempt to highlight the distress and agony of the Palestinian refugees in the wretched camps around my city.” In addition to the 23 stories, the book includes a photograph and one or two-page biography of each of the 15 contributors, with their personal statements on writing.
The blockade of Gaza means that copies of Gaza Writes Back may not reach Gaza, where most of its writers are currently located. The number of stories was chosen so as to match the number of days Operation Cast Lead lasted. The Gaza Writes Back Facebook page has been posting daily extracts from the stories. Gaza Writes Back brings together 23 stories by 15 young authors, all but three of them women.
And as Gaza Writes Back demonstrates, they are also increasingly writing fiction. Gazans have been adept in using social media, through blogs, Facebook, Twitter and online publications. Gazans have constantly sought ways of overcoming their difficulties and isolation, and writing has played an increasingly vital role in this. The book’s cover says: “These stories take us into the homes and hearts of moms, dads, students, children, and elders striving to live lives of dignity in one of the world’s most embattled communities.” The launch was held at a packed-out event in the P21 Gallery, with sponsorship from Middle East Monitor (MEMO) and the Arab British Centre. In the chair was author and former associate foreign editor of the Guardian newspaper Victoria Brittain. The book’s international launch in London, on the evening of Wednesday of last week, coincided with the fifth anniversary of the ending of Operation Cast Lead. Now Just World Books of Charlottesville, Virginia, has published a groundbreaking collection of fiction, Gaza Writes Back: Short Stories from Young Writers in Gaza, Palestine, edited by Refaat Alareer. In their stories the young authors explore the lives of Gazans during and after Operation Cast Lead. It was a particularly brutal chapter in the seemingly never-ending ordeals facing the people of Gaza. Israel’s 23-day Operation Cast Lead offensive on Gaza, which lasted from 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009, caused massive destruction and killed more than 1,400 people in Gaza. Anthology launched on 5th anniversary of Israel’s Cast Lead onslaught
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