Homes turned to rubble, families wiped out from the registry, and children playing while the background noise is another strike about to land on innocent civilians in a fraction of a second. As soon as one is informed about the situation in the Gaza Strip, one realizes the grandeur of what is a literal living nightmare. There are 2.5 million people living in Gaza, and around half of them are children. Gaza is the most overpopulated place on earth 40 kilometers long and six to seven kilometers wide, yet this small piece of land by some miracle is enduring agony that is beating at its heart a thousand times per second. The question remains, how do its residents go about their days coping with such circumstances?
It could be how Crisis Gets the Worst, and Best Out of People
There is an ocean of heartwarming stories of acts of kindness during times of crisis that happened at any time in history. Amid the increasing death toll in Gaza and constant living in fear, kindness prevails in order to establish balance and make life a little less painful. Palestinians master that art. One of the stories is about a ten-year-old ‘Maysara’ living in Gaza who fetches his teapot, cups and mint leaves to make tea for the journalists near Nasr Hospital after coming a long way walking only to make this simple, yet significant act of kindness.
Or Laughing their Pains Away
The 17-year-old Palestinian from Gaza, Abdelrahman Battah is humoring his way through a literal genocide. Battah is seen on Instagram and TikTok dressed as a journalist because it is his dream to become one, sometimes holding on to a fake mic, reporting the war from the street or the rooftop of his house where the background noise is always the horrifying sound of air raids. Yet the teenage Battah does not hide, he makes dark humor out of it.
He first appeared in a short video complaining about the sounds of airstrikes waking him up in the morning, describing the situation as “so iced coffee” which quickly became his motto.
مشاهد متداولة توثق عودة الفتى الفلسطيني عبد الرحمن بطاح الملقب بـ"عبود" و"المراسل الطفل "، للظهور مجددا بعد أن أثار غيابه لأيام قلقا لدى رواد مواقع التوصل الاجتماعي.
الله يحميكم pic.twitter.com/W1WxWdtAH8— Ahmad Hasan (@binaasorya) November 4, 2023
Have You Seen the Cats?
The camera lens of Motaz Azaiza, one of the most famous photojournalists now catches human acts of kindness and empathy. Israel shelling in Gaza might wipe out buildings, but the empathy of Palestinian children seems to be left untouched.
Here is another video of girls taking their cats with them on the journey to south Gaza, where even the kittens are displaced.
A Deep Faith in God?
Faith in God and clinging to one’s religion is definitely a huge part of the equation. Muslims and Christians living in Gaza are known for that and it is from where so much strength is derived. All over the media, it is nothing new to see a mother meeting her martyred child and hear her uttering the words of god. It is nothing new to see those who should be mourning comforting others in a selfless act of kindness and dependence on god. Something which inspired an American Tiktoker Megan Rice to convert to Islam, saying that the iron-clad faith Palestinian people show even in the face of losing everything is impressive.
Fearlessness: Everybody is a Revolutionary
Palestinians are resilient and fearless, and they take pride in dying in their land rather than leaving it to Israeli occupation to take over it. It is not a strange view to see a child standing his ground, pointing a finger towards an Israeli soldier with anger dressed over his face.
https://twitter.com/yara_lubnan/status/1713333344811757758
Second Guessing Our Little Nightmares
Most importantly, Palestinians are powerful because they are the land owners, and that makes them stand long without a flinch.
Currently, many social media users who are keeping up with the content about the genocide happening in Gaza are experiencing shame or guilt, comparing their little nightmares to those of people under constant death threats in Gaza. Although the guilt part is purely psychological, what remains is to derive strength and resilience from those who own it. Despite the melancholy, there can be a lesson or two to learn from people who know fighting by heart.
WE SAID THIS: Don’t Miss...Palestinian TikToker Abdulrahman Battah Spreads Humor In The Face Of Gaza Genocide
