Mojtaba

“One of the things you have to do during times like these is listen to the news and follow every statement, every scrap of new information. But at the same time, it’s unbearable to listen. The way they talk about us, refer to us, speak for us, decide things for us, without ever asking any of us to speak, is disgusting.”
― Atef Abu Saif, Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide

“Some kids have invented a new, clever way of making sure their story is told, or at least recorded, even after they’ve been torn to pieces by an Israeli missile. To make sure their bodies are recognised they have taken to writing their names, with markers, on their hands and legs. They are sharing this practice on social media. Some are even writing their family’s mobile numbers so they can be called and informed of their death. It is almost impossible to think about the world carrying on after we die, but these kids are doing it: putting their loved ones first, hoping to lessen their suffering by saving them from the purgatory of not knowing. They do it also, I think, for themselves: the idea of dying and not being mourned by anyone is unbearable.”
― Atef Abu Saif, Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide

“On the first day of the war, a friend of mine texted me: ‘What is happening in Gaza?’ I replied: ‘The proper question is not what is happening, but what has been happening, all this time—for more than 75 years.’ We live in a war film, and the director, who is also the producer and the star, does not want it to end. The Hollywood studio behind the film keeps feeding the script with new scenes, keeps adding millions of dollars to the budget. Early screen tests have proven it’s going to be a blockbuster, but only if they keep filming. And never stop.”
― Atef Abu Saif, Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide

“The Israeli Army’s instinct seems to be to kill as many as they can. The death toll’s not important, what’s important is that Gaza dies. To them we are just numbers, and when you’re turned into numbers, it doesn’t matter if it’s ten or ten thousand. It’s just a number.”
― Atef Abu Saif, Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide