The Eyes of Gaza Quotes

“The international media outlets were only interested in covering news about Gaza during an Israeli Aggression, she said, making it hard to work as a journalist full time. It would seem that the eyes and ears of the world aren’t interested in Palestinian life, only in Palestinian death.”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

“The world can’t pretend that there are two sides here any more. There is no humanity, no equity, no semblance of justice. It’s a calculated, deliberate and ruthless ethnic cleansing, and nobody seems to care enough.”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

“Why do we study history when clearly nobody ever learns from it?”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

“We must not allow the world, as cruel as it might seem, to change our hearts. It’s important that at the end of the day, when you look at yourself in the mirror, you see a person who stands up for what’s right in this world.”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

“I wish I had the capability to report on every single story, every single person I meet, but I don’t have the time or equipment, let alone the battery power or internet connection to upload everything. The reality is I have to choose which stories are worth reporting on, like some sort of sick judge of human suffering. Another layer of trauma for a journalist in Gaza.”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

“I’ve always loved writing and journaling, but I like documenting happy moments. And yet here I am living through a Genocide. I feel I have to show the world the truth, but that’s difficult to do while I’m also trying to stay alive.”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

“It’s a different type of pain, to see your homeland, once covered with olive and lemon trees, lush, fruitful pastures and the remnants of ancient, beautiful humanity, reduced to rubble, populated by camps and tents.”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

“You know what always inspires me? The spirit of Palestinians. How after every loss, you only find us stronger and trying even harder to live and love life.”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

“Looking back, though, I believe being bullied might have been the best thing that ever happened to me, because it played a huge role in shaping the person I am today; giving me the chance to spend more time alone and develop a better relationship with myself. I learned to accept the fact that not everyone in life will like you, and that’s okay.”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

“I love the version of myself I am in Gaza, far more than the version of me that was in Cyprus. Back home, I feel like I have a purpose, a sense of community. Outside of Gaza, I feel like an average person living an unremarkable life. At home, I come alive. There was only one thing missing at this time: I hadn’t achieved my wish to show the world Gaza through my eyes.”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

“I can’t always gather the strength to film what I see, because my eyes don’t want to believe that what they see is true. So instead, I just walk through the camp, between the tents, watching people’s eyes and trying to memorize their faces, so that somebody will have known them before the end.”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience

“Today, the ‘war’ ended. This isn’t an Aggression any more; it’s a Genocide. There isn’t another word that can describe the scale of violence I see in front of me.”
― Plestia Alaqad, The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience