Gaza City, June 2015. Mohammed Asad APA images

To the children who lost their lives, and the parents who had to bury them.



Bring your camera.

Bring your candles and spotlights to highlight.

Bring your focus to hashtag anniversary.

Everyday Gaza.

Bring your reporters, your journalists, your moving infographics.

Write:

“Abu Muhammad sits on the balcony, cradling the head of Muhammad.

Sorry.

“The photo of the head of Muhammad.”

Talk about bomb shelters and war sirens in Sderot and Tel Aviv.

Call it “Neutrality”

Talk about your 5 dead and your iron dome.

Call it “Objective Reality”

Bring your billion dollar pledges and your aid caravans

Your excel sheets, monitoring reports and donor requirements.

Call it “Accountability”

Write:

“Abu Muhammmad sits on the balcony hopelessly smokes a hopeless cigarette talks about lack of hope.”

This one is human interest story.

And when we invite you into our rubble homes for tea and bread you call it “Generosity.”

And when we are strong about our suffering you call it “Resilience.”

Write:

51 days.

2,000 dead.

10,000 wounded.

Abu Muhammad says:

My boys took a ball to the beach.

Came back bodies.



How can we remember what we can’t forget?



Jehan Bseiso is a Palestinian poet, researcher and aid worker currently based in Cairo. Twitter: @jehanbseiso.