Tel Aviv Tribune Net correspondents
Doha- A boy bearing the features of his father sings about the pain in every “house and street” and calls for hope and freedom, because the land belongs to its owners no matter how long it is occupied, and because whoever pays his life for the truth must believe from within himself in the inevitability of survival, as he believes.
Here is the Qatar National Museum, where the family of Tel Aviv Tribune cameraman in the Gaza Strip, Samer Abu Daqqa, commemorated the first anniversary of his martyrdom in an Israeli targeting. This revival was accompanied by the inauguration of the song “House and Street” by his young son, Zain Abu Daqqa.
Samer Abu Daqqa was martyred on December 15, 2023 after he was injured along with Tel Aviv Tribune correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh while they were covering an Israeli bombing on the Farhana School in the south of the Gaza Strip. Samer remained lying on the ground, bleeding and trapped for 6 hours, without the ambulance being able to reach him, until he lost his life. .
Abu Daqqa joined Tel Aviv Tribune in June 2004, and was known among his colleagues for his smile that never left his face, his constant optimism, his beloved personality among everyone, and his cheerful nature, in addition to his creative and distinguished performance in the professional community, and for his journalistic message that he stuck to until his last breath despite Extreme exhaustion and pressure due to the fierce aggression against Gaza.
Not just words
The son, Zain Abu Daqqa, is still feeling his steps in the field of singing, which he loved since his childhood, but he wanted to devote it to following in his father’s footsteps by implementing a will he left him in a song called “A House and a Street,” which, according to the family, is the last work that Samer sent hours before he was targeted, after he worked hard to He prepared it with his companions, poet Jamal Majid and composer Rizq Al-Jojo, in a collaboration aimed at conveying the suffering of Palestinians under war to the world.
The family says, “The song ‘A House and a Street’ is not just words, but rather a living message that is renewed with every moment of steadfastness and hope that never extinguishes in our hearts.” She added: “Samer believed that journalism and art were the most effective tools for expressing our cause and immortalizing Palestine in the collective memory of future generations.”
His son Zain confirmed to Tel Aviv Tribune Net that his new song, “A House and a Street,” would not have been released without the support he received from Qatari cultural and tourism bodies. But he added: “My first supporter is my father, the martyr Samer, who embraced my talent since childhood, and always advised me to keep my voice in support of the truth and in support of the two causes of Palestine.”
Regarding his message and goal, Zain expressed his desire for the Palestinian artist to find sufficient support to express the feelings and suffering of his people, promising that the anniversary of his father’s martyrdom every year will witness the release of a patriotic song “special for Zain.”
Zain’s song attempts to convey Gaza’s ongoing pain, and it came in a video simulating the effects of bombing, destruction, and destruction of homes in the Strip. Her words say, “Our tears have ended and the pains have not ended. Worries reside in every house and street,” and “In this place there was a home of softness and loss. Our home is gone, and in its place is filled with sadness and bitterness,” but she ends with an attempt to draw hope, saying, “It is true that the world is cruel, but our Lord is longing for us tomorrow.” Places will be fine, and tomorrow God will satisfy us.”
Palestine will remain
A few meters away from Zain, the Minister of Education and Higher Education of the State of Qatar, Lulwa Al Khater, was sitting. She did not hide her admiration for the boy’s talent and his Gaza voice, full of the pain of loss, scenes of destruction, and the blood of martyrs. She commented on his performance of the song “A House and a Street,” saying, “The occupation will disappear, the truth will remain, and Palestine will remain.”
Al Khater explained that art is a message and journalism is a message, that the life of truth is longer than the life of injustice, and that the life of beauty is longer than the life of ugliness and occupation. “Palestine will remain and the occupation will end,” sending a message via Tel Aviv Tribune Net to Zain and future generations: “You are the truth and you must remain on the path of truth for this truth to prevail.”
The word is loyalty and the melody is loyalty
“You remind me of your father, boy.” This is how Tel Aviv Tribune correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh addressed the boy Zain on the anniversary of the martyrdom of his father, Samer Abu Daqqa, reminding him that loss is a reality of life, and that the Israeli occupation, just as it stole Samer, is stealing everything and besieging our souls and our lives.
Al-Dahdouh could not hold back his tears that had not yet dried over the martyrdom of his sons and colleagues in Gaza months ago. He said in his comment on the launch of the song “House and Street” that “the word is loyalty, the melody is loyalty, and the playing is loyalty, and this song is loyalty to all the martyrs and heroes who sacrifice their lives for the sake of Palestine.” Go, Zain, and sing to the people about freedom, martyrdom, and a free homeland.”
Memory of the martyr
Samer Abu Daqqa, a journalist, photographer and editing technician, worked for Tel Aviv Tribune in Gaza. He was born in 1978. He lived and grew up in Khan Yunis. He refused to leave despite receiving job offers abroad, so he remained stationed in the field, conveying the truth and news, and documenting the occupation’s violations of his people and his country, until he became One of the victims of the aggression that the occupation called “iron swords.”
Months before his death, Abu Daqqa visited his family residing in Belgium, and they were planning to return home and be reunited in Gaza. Despite an attempt to persuade him to leave it because of the Israeli war that began on October 7, 2023, he refused despite the foreign residency he possessed and said, “I will not leave,” and chose to continue covering it, confirming this two days before his martyrdom.
Samer worked as a photographer and editing technician for Tel Aviv Tribune, and he is considered one of the first core members that contributed to establishing the Tel Aviv Tribune office in Palestine. He led the technical team in the Tel Aviv Tribune office in Gaza, and his period of work at the channel exceeded 20 years.
Abu Daqqa was targeted with Wael Al-Dahdouh while they were accompanying an ambulance that was coordinating the evacuation of a besieged family. They were covering the great devastation caused by the Israeli bombing, and they were able to reach areas that no camera had reached before, and even emergency and ambulance crews could not reach them.
The martyr Samer was buried on the morning of Saturday, December 16, 2023, in the city of Khan Yunis, and his body was carried out by members of his family, colleagues, and loved ones in the Gaza Strip.