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intomybookshelf_'s review
informative
reflective
sad
5.0
I find it appropriate to start this review with the words of Refaat Alareer, in this chapter : Gaza Asks: When Shall This Pass? :
"Listener, as you peruse these chapters, what can or will you do, knowing that what you do can save lives and can change the course of history? Listener, will you make this matter?"
To be honest, I don't even know what to write here, so I'll just go with my gut and wipe the tears away.
This book is one everyone should read. It's a collection of life stories, poems and essays written by Palestinian authors and centered around the Gazan experience.
It's a read that will shake you to your core at times, will make you reflect on your place in this world and what you can do to leave it better place. It's also a book that will educate you, on the daily lives of Gazans, on their traditions and their culture - their relationship to the land, the olive trees, the agriculture. On how they have to fight for their education. On what it feels like to consistently see drones in the sky. On what it's like to live as a Gazan.
This was a hard read, especially considering the genocide happening right now. But it makes it even more important.
"Knowledge is Israel's worst enemy. Awareness is Israel's most hated and feared foe." - Refaat Alareer
We have a duty to pick a book, to listen to a podcast, to watch a documentary. ANYTHING to educate ourselves and do our part. It's the least we can do.
Refaat Alareer was murdered months ago, but his words and legacy live on.
"Gaza needs life" ~ Basman Alidrawi
Free Palestine. End the occupation.
Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and the authors for this audiobook, in exchange for an honest review.
"Listener, as you peruse these chapters, what can or will you do, knowing that what you do can save lives and can change the course of history? Listener, will you make this matter?"
To be honest, I don't even know what to write here, so I'll just go with my gut and wipe the tears away.
This book is one everyone should read. It's a collection of life stories, poems and essays written by Palestinian authors and centered around the Gazan experience.
It's a read that will shake you to your core at times, will make you reflect on your place in this world and what you can do to leave it better place. It's also a book that will educate you, on the daily lives of Gazans, on their traditions and their culture - their relationship to the land, the olive trees, the agriculture. On how they have to fight for their education. On what it feels like to consistently see drones in the sky. On what it's like to live as a Gazan.
This was a hard read, especially considering the genocide happening right now. But it makes it even more important.
"Knowledge is Israel's worst enemy. Awareness is Israel's most hated and feared foe." - Refaat Alareer
We have a duty to pick a book, to listen to a podcast, to watch a documentary. ANYTHING to educate ourselves and do our part. It's the least we can do.
Refaat Alareer was murdered months ago, but his words and legacy live on.
"Gaza needs life" ~ Basman Alidrawi
Free Palestine. End the occupation.
Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and the authors for this audiobook, in exchange for an honest review.
supermando's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I have to say that this should be considered an essential read. This anthology gave tons of context from the past and pathways for the future
impnextdoor's review
5.0
A very important read that covers a lot of breadth within the myriad horrors that have been committed against the Palestinians in Gaza specifically. As an anthology of various Gazan voices, there is a wealth of both information and emotional weight. Highly recommend!
booksbyaya's review
5.0
If you want to know more about the Palestinian people living in Gaza, you must read this book. In this book, you learn about Palestinians' attachment to agriculture, literature, and their lives during the illegal occupation. By reading this book, we see how the illegal occupation controls Gaza and how basic human rights are not given to Palestinians people.
It taught me so much.
It taught me so much.
sammytvo's review
5.0
it’s absolutely devastating how the people of palestine has been fighting for not just for their own freedom but basic human rights for CENTURIES and its a losing battle even to this day. everyone needs to read this and hear their stories and voices
as an american, i’ve never heard any news about palestine (until recently) but since this conflict has been happen since before i was born and i haven’t heard anything about it in the media/news, i recognize my privilege and the bubble i am in! i’m glad i am more educated on this and will continue to learn more! This book was eye opening
People are dying and the LEAST we can do we acknowledge that and educate ourselves.
as an american, i’ve never heard any news about palestine (until recently) but since this conflict has been happen since before i was born and i haven’t heard anything about it in the media/news, i recognize my privilege and the bubble i am in! i’m glad i am more educated on this and will continue to learn more! This book was eye opening
People are dying and the LEAST we can do we acknowledge that and educate ourselves.
bookaquarius's review
challenging
informative
“In April 2016, Professor Chomsky again sent a dozen of his books. However, the Israeli authorities had stopped all mail to Gaza. They claimed that armed groups were getting materials that could be used for military purposes. I didn’t think that the draconian Israeli ban would apply to books for children, linguists, and anyone interested in literature, but I was wrong. That confirmed to me that Israel was waging a deliberate and systematic attack on Palestinian learning by depriving the people of knowledge.”
“Exporting Oranges and Short Stories: Cultural Struggle in the Gaza Strip” by Mosab Abu Toha, Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire.
I finished Light in Gaza over the weekend and it was a great collection of work. There were essays on history, culture, & personal stories, as well as interludes of poetry. A lot of the essays one, two, or several decades at the impact war and occupation has had on the region and the people. It’s really incredible (as in defying credulity) how without the year explicitly mentioned, readers would not be able to tell if some of the events discussed were in 2004 or today.
mxunsmiley's review
5.0
A wrought collection that nevertheless shows the resilience of the Palestinian people, as unfortunate and unacceptable a reality that resilience is--it was absolutely chilling to read accounts of children re-enacting their traumatic daily lives through play, even having to console each other during strikes. No living being should have to endure what is described in the pages of this collection, day after day, for decades.
The countless innovations made under occupation are impressive--alternatives to electricity, taking advantage of short-form works to compensate for Israel's destruction and suppression of publication houses--yet again, completely tragic because of the conditions they were birthed in. The Palestinians refuse to surrender, and they aptly recognize Israel's fear and subsequent suppression of literacy, education, familial/cultural ties, and culture. Every action Israel undertakes under a veneer of legality and respectability is transparent in its goal of ethnic cleansing; it's unbelievably horrific, especially when also veiled in denial on Israel's part.
One work in particular quite concisely highlights every problem with the much touted "two-state" solution, as well ("Gaza 2050: Three Scenarios" by Basman Aldirawi). The issues surrounding dispossession and loss of identity permeate this book, through efforts to maintain family structures in housing despite difficulties or impossibilities in obtaining materials, many of which are prohibited by Israel, and invocations of "temporality" which only further emphasize the continuous trauma of the Palestinians (specifically "Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Temporality" by Shahd Abusalama, but the theme of instability and the resulting disorientation runs throughout).
I have to say that it was heart-wrenching to read "Our family members have tripled since 1948" in "Travel Restrictions as a Manifestation of Nakba" by Yousef M. Aljamal, as the author also mentions that his family had "produced a family tree that allows everyone to track their ancestors and heritage". It's wretched to think of how many Palestinians have been brutalized and murdered since the penning of this work, how the late Refaat Alareer's desolate words in his introductory piece, "Gaza Asks: When Shall This Pass?" sound even bleaker, especially when one remembers how he came to be assassinated.
While the point is more toward affect overall, the collection does include a lot of historical and geographical background of Palestine; I'd say it's a good introduction for further reading because it's mind-boggling how the conditions of the occupation have changed in less than a century, as Palestinians are given no autonomy, voice, or place in the matter.
The countless innovations made under occupation are impressive--alternatives to electricity, taking advantage of short-form works to compensate for Israel's destruction and suppression of publication houses--yet again, completely tragic because of the conditions they were birthed in. The Palestinians refuse to surrender, and they aptly recognize Israel's fear and subsequent suppression of literacy, education, familial/cultural ties, and culture. Every action Israel undertakes under a veneer of legality and respectability is transparent in its goal of ethnic cleansing; it's unbelievably horrific, especially when also veiled in denial on Israel's part.
One work in particular quite concisely highlights every problem with the much touted "two-state" solution, as well ("Gaza 2050: Three Scenarios" by Basman Aldirawi). The issues surrounding dispossession and loss of identity permeate this book, through efforts to maintain family structures in housing despite difficulties or impossibilities in obtaining materials, many of which are prohibited by Israel, and invocations of "temporality" which only further emphasize the continuous trauma of the Palestinians (specifically "Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Temporality" by Shahd Abusalama, but the theme of instability and the resulting disorientation runs throughout).
I have to say that it was heart-wrenching to read "Our family members have tripled since 1948" in "Travel Restrictions as a Manifestation of Nakba" by Yousef M. Aljamal, as the author also mentions that his family had "produced a family tree that allows everyone to track their ancestors and heritage". It's wretched to think of how many Palestinians have been brutalized and murdered since the penning of this work, how the late Refaat Alareer's desolate words in his introductory piece, "Gaza Asks: When Shall This Pass?" sound even bleaker, especially when one remembers how he came to be assassinated.
While the point is more toward affect overall, the collection does include a lot of historical and geographical background of Palestine; I'd say it's a good introduction for further reading because it's mind-boggling how the conditions of the occupation have changed in less than a century, as Palestinians are given no autonomy, voice, or place in the matter.
moonlitface's review
5.0
Bukunya sangat aksesibel—dari segi bahasa dan penjelasan. Sebagai orang luar, aku mendapat gambaran seperti apa kondisi Gaza selama 75 tahun terakhir; warga Palestina keliatan cinta banget sama negeri mereka.
Esai-esai dalam buku ini ditulis dari berbagai perspektif; agrikultur, arsitektur, kemajuan AI, dan sebagainya. Salah satu yang menarik dari perspektif agrikultur, misalnya, bagaimana hasil panen dan makanan menjadi identitas Palestina yang sudah ada bahkan sejak sebelum tahun 1948. Dari perspektif arsitektur, menceritakan proses pembangunan kembali hunian untuk keberlanjutan hidup warga Palestina pasca pengeboman.
Overall, bacaan yang berat tapi penting!
Esai-esai dalam buku ini ditulis dari berbagai perspektif; agrikultur, arsitektur, kemajuan AI, dan sebagainya. Salah satu yang menarik dari perspektif agrikultur, misalnya, bagaimana hasil panen dan makanan menjadi identitas Palestina yang sudah ada bahkan sejak sebelum tahun 1948. Dari perspektif arsitektur, menceritakan proses pembangunan kembali hunian untuk keberlanjutan hidup warga Palestina pasca pengeboman.
Overall, bacaan yang berat tapi penting!