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Gaza Unsilenced
During and after Israel's 2014 assault on Gaza, voices within and outside Gaza bore powerful witness to the Israeli attacks-and to the effects of the crushing siege that continued to strangle Gaza's people long thereafter. REFAAT ALAREER and LAILA EL-HADDAD are distinguished Palestinian writers and analysts from Gaza. In Gaza Unsilenced they present reflections, analysis, and images-their own, and those of many other contributors-that record the pain and resilience of Gaza's Palestinians and the solidarity they have received from Palestinians and others around the world. Other contributors include: Ali Abunimah Ramzi Baroud Diana Buttu Jonathan Cook Belal Dabour Richard Falk Chris Hedges Hatim Kanaaneh Rashid Khalidi Eman Mohammed
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2015
About the author
Refaat Alareer
7 books314 followersRefaat Alareer (Arabic: رفعت العرعير) was a Palestinian writer, poet, professor, and activist from the Gaza Strip.
Alareer was born in Gaza City in 1979 during the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip, which he said had negatively influenced every move and decision he made. Alareer earned a BA in English in 2001 from the Islamic University of Gaza and an MA from University College London in 2007. He earned a PhD in English Literature at the Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2017 with a dissertation on John Donne.
He taught literature and creative writing at the Islamic University of Gaza and co-founded the organization We Are Not Numbers, which matched experienced authors with young writers in Gaza, and promoted the power of storytelling as a means of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation.
On 6 December 2023, Alareer was killed by an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza, along with his brother, sister, and four of his nephews, during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Euro-Med Monitor released a statement saying that Alareer was deliberately targeted, "surgically bombed out of the entire building", and came after weeks of "death threats that Refaat received online and by phone from Israeli accounts." On 26 April 2024, his eldest daughter and his newborn grandchild were killed by an Israeli airstrike on their Gaza City home.
Alareer was born in Gaza City in 1979 during the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip, which he said had negatively influenced every move and decision he made. Alareer earned a BA in English in 2001 from the Islamic University of Gaza and an MA from University College London in 2007. He earned a PhD in English Literature at the Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2017 with a dissertation on John Donne.
He taught literature and creative writing at the Islamic University of Gaza and co-founded the organization We Are Not Numbers, which matched experienced authors with young writers in Gaza, and promoted the power of storytelling as a means of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation.
On 6 December 2023, Alareer was killed by an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza, along with his brother, sister, and four of his nephews, during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Euro-Med Monitor released a statement saying that Alareer was deliberately targeted, "surgically bombed out of the entire building", and came after weeks of "death threats that Refaat received online and by phone from Israeli accounts." On 26 April 2024, his eldest daughter and his newborn grandchild were killed by an Israeli airstrike on their Gaza City home.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 20, 2023
If you support Gaza, I urge you to read this book and hear their voices. It is so tragic that everything happening right now has literally occurred at least 3 times in the past decade already to the Gazan people. Reading this has only made me more angry and heartbroken and determined to support their liberation.
May you rest in peace, Refaat Alareer. Free Palestine.
May you rest in peace, Refaat Alareer. Free Palestine.
March 1, 2024
First hand accounts of life in Gaza, the details of it...like what it means for your daily routine to have your farm land destroyed. Or your fishing distance restricted to the exact point of finding fish. Or to have your brother assassinated and watch his daughter deal with severe psychological damage and trauma at 6. And knowing that you're a target and could possibly meet the same fate (and ultimately did RIP Refaat Alareer).
Refaat wrote several essays in this piece but this is a collection of voices from Gaza, some now in the diaspora and some continuing to report, some dead and all of them recounting stories that sound exactly like the ones we hear today. Yet in the way they're told, in much greater detail and in a reflective way after the fact, it gives us insight to the nature of the trauma we're witnessing in the present yet on an even more horrific scale and that nothing has changed in Israel's playbook and how quickly so many forget. Hospitals were always attacked, civilians have always been blamed as shields, etc, etc... it's crazy but we have to remind constantly that at base this a people under siege, under occupation, cleansed originally in 1948 hence why they're in the camps and areas they are. Are actions out of the state enforcing that ever going to be "benevolent" in any sort of way? Or honest?
I'm writing this the day after the already infamous flour massacre of Feb 29 and I always think it can't get it worse. But it can and the patterns have been there for over a century.
Refaat wrote several essays in this piece but this is a collection of voices from Gaza, some now in the diaspora and some continuing to report, some dead and all of them recounting stories that sound exactly like the ones we hear today. Yet in the way they're told, in much greater detail and in a reflective way after the fact, it gives us insight to the nature of the trauma we're witnessing in the present yet on an even more horrific scale and that nothing has changed in Israel's playbook and how quickly so many forget. Hospitals were always attacked, civilians have always been blamed as shields, etc, etc... it's crazy but we have to remind constantly that at base this a people under siege, under occupation, cleansed originally in 1948 hence why they're in the camps and areas they are. Are actions out of the state enforcing that ever going to be "benevolent" in any sort of way? Or honest?
I'm writing this the day after the already infamous flour massacre of Feb 29 and I always think it can't get it worse. But it can and the patterns have been there for over a century.
November 14, 2023
This book is haunting as it reports the 2014 war on Gaza. That war was but a fore-shock of much, much worse. The ripples and impact and aftershocks are on the hands of so many. The stories and reports here are sobering and difficult to imagine. The stories not told …
May 31, 2024
This book is a series of essays from jounalists, activitists and acadaemics about life during and following the 2014 invasion by Israel. The essays cover several areas of Gaza with witness accounts and the subsequent consequences of the Israeli attacks along with relections,analysis and images from the contributors. The book also views the solidarity and resistance of the Palestinians
This particular conflict lasted 51 days and the contributors have effectively described life under the bombardment and put forward reasonable ideas to resolve the conflicts
I would like to highlight a couple of quotes which resonated with me:
1] "To be a Palestinian from Gaza means that you are under attack from Israel at any time. It means that you are just a postponed target and all you can do is wait to face your destiny"
2] "They are not solving the issues, they are creating more suicide bombers. You cannot solve issues like this, [bombing], like this at all. They are the ones creating suicide bombings, not us"
At the end of this book there is a chapter listing the people individually who died during this 2014 conflict.- very depressing.
FILE NOTE: One of the editors of this collection, Refaat Alareer, was killed during the current[2024] conflict
Overall an insightful and thought provoking book
This particular conflict lasted 51 days and the contributors have effectively described life under the bombardment and put forward reasonable ideas to resolve the conflicts
I would like to highlight a couple of quotes which resonated with me:
1] "To be a Palestinian from Gaza means that you are under attack from Israel at any time. It means that you are just a postponed target and all you can do is wait to face your destiny"
2] "They are not solving the issues, they are creating more suicide bombers. You cannot solve issues like this, [bombing], like this at all. They are the ones creating suicide bombings, not us"
At the end of this book there is a chapter listing the people individually who died during this 2014 conflict.- very depressing.
FILE NOTE: One of the editors of this collection, Refaat Alareer, was killed during the current[2024] conflict
Overall an insightful and thought provoking book
July 15, 2024
RIP Refaat Alareer, killed by "Israel" 12/7/2023
January 22, 2024
"I look forward to surviving. If I don't, remember that I wasn't Hamas or a militant, nor was I used as a human shield. I was at home." -Mohammad Suliman under intense shelling in Gaza City.
Required reading.
The pages in this book were painful to face because of how gutting and shameful it is that this violent history continues to repeat itself causing so much suffering and hardship for the people of Palestine--and our complicity in it. At the beginning I could only read 2 reflections in each sitting. It was disturbing to read of the horrific amount of Palestinians killed in 2014 (2,200+) and the impact it had on those who continue to survive, to know that today the number has reached 25,000 and counting since Oct. 7. It's haunting to know that one of the editors of this book was killed in the latest attack on Gaza--how many of the other contributors have we lost?
I'm so grateful that this collection was put together. It taught me so much, it opened my heart and mind.
"But Palestinians in Gaza say, time and time again, we don't want your sympathy, we want your sanctions! We don't want your anger, we want your action!" -Laila El-Haddad
Required reading.
The pages in this book were painful to face because of how gutting and shameful it is that this violent history continues to repeat itself causing so much suffering and hardship for the people of Palestine--and our complicity in it. At the beginning I could only read 2 reflections in each sitting. It was disturbing to read of the horrific amount of Palestinians killed in 2014 (2,200+) and the impact it had on those who continue to survive, to know that today the number has reached 25,000 and counting since Oct. 7. It's haunting to know that one of the editors of this book was killed in the latest attack on Gaza--how many of the other contributors have we lost?
I'm so grateful that this collection was put together. It taught me so much, it opened my heart and mind.
"But Palestinians in Gaza say, time and time again, we don't want your sympathy, we want your sanctions! We don't want your anger, we want your action!" -Laila El-Haddad
March 5, 2024
Never a more apt time to read this book, insane levels of deja-vu, the current situation and back in 2014 is identical. Heart breaking to learn absolutely nothing has improved for the Palestinians, the resilience of this amazing people.
February 9, 2024
This book is extremely painfully long but one that everyone must read. It was very difficult to apprehend how inhumane our world has come to.
July 25, 2024
Could have been written about the current conflict. Collections of reflections at the time of the 2014 conflict it reads like newspaper articles with some poems. Mixed as far as quality of writing goes, with some really poignant pieces. Give a good sense of military tactics of Israel, and the human cost.
January 31, 2024
4.75 but I didn't have the heart to put it as a 4 on good reads
A series of articles dedicated to the people of Gaza, there has been nothing more devastating to read, especially at a time like this. Perfect and necessary read.
A series of articles dedicated to the people of Gaza, there has been nothing more devastating to read, especially at a time like this. Perfect and necessary read.
February 9, 2024
A highly, highly recommended book.
October 25, 2024
🇵🇸
Rest Refaat Alareer, a tragic loss among so many. An excellent compendium of voices and a hugely relevant contextualisation of Gaza’s recent history.
Rest Refaat Alareer, a tragic loss among so many. An excellent compendium of voices and a hugely relevant contextualisation of Gaza’s recent history.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews