In a bid to keep Palestinian culture alive, refugee children in Rafah, southern Gaza, have created stunning images of historic buildings destroyed during the seven-month Israeli-Palestinian war.
The young people – whose smiling faces belie the horrors they are experiencing – pose with vivid images of Qasr al-Basha and the Omari Mosque, both now in ruins in Gaza City.
For many participants in the art sessions funded by the British charity Christian Aid and organized by Palestinian partner Culture and Free Thought Association, it is the first time they have picked up a pencil or pencil in months.
Not only are the children able to put the devastating war out of their minds for a moment and become children again, but their works also consolidate Gaza’s cultural identity and keep it – and their hopes – alive, according to William Bell. , Head of Middle East Policy and Advocacy at Christian Aid.
Community mobilizer Buthaina al-Faqawi, who helps organize the sessions in al-Mawasi, northern Rafah, describes the change she witnesses in the children who participate: “The first look is despair and hopelessness. misery,” she said. “The second look is hope. The third view is the love of life and childhood. Please…we deserve life, we deserve better.
At the beginning of April 2024, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had verified the damage caused to 43 cultural properties since October 7, 2023. They include 10 religious sites, 24 buildings of historical interest and/or artistic, two deposits of movable cultural objects, three monuments, a museum and three archaeological sites.
The organization expressed “deep concern” about the impact of the ongoing conflict on cultural heritage and urged all parties involved to strictly adhere to international law.
*Some names have been changed to protect identities.