Struggle and Solidarity: Writing Toward Palestinian Liberation

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In Gaza, it’s not just the prison cells that trap people. The daily restrictions on movement, services, communication, and basic life make every moment of our lives feel like a collective prison without walls, where even the simplest decisions are subject to constant limitations, turning life into a continuous struggle for survival.

Since I woke up today, I felt the familiar sensation: that the whole place is a cell. It’s not just the tent I live in with my family, nor the destruction next to our tent — every inch of Gaza feels like part of a vast prison without walls. Every step I take, every movement I make, is constrained by the Israeli occupation’s policies, controlling my daily life from the smallest details to the biggest decisions.

Ever since I was forced to leave my city, Rafah, and to live in a camp, even the simplest daily routines have become a challenge. The tents are crowded, privacy is almost nonexistent, and freedom is just a word we pass around in stories. Sometimes I look at the sky and imagine that every ray of sunlight is watching us, deciding when we can go out, when we must return, and when we can connect with others. Even sleeping in the tent feels restricted; every sound from outside reminds you that someone is watching at every moment, and that you are living inside a tent.

Every day, I wake up to the sound of the reconnaissance plane before I even open my eyes. Its sharp tone fills the sky as if announcing the start of a new day of constant monitoring. It never leaves us; it hangs over us every moment, like a guard who never sleeps, tracking the smallest details of our day and reminding us that we are not free, even in the simplest moments.

My younger brother Mohammed, just 13 years old, has experienced hardships far beyond his age. Since the moment we started living in the camp, he has had to carry water canisters more than 200 meters back and forth every day.

I Spoke to Families in Gaza’s Largest Tent Camp. Here’s What They Told Me.

“Every day I walk long distances — not to go to school, and I’m not carrying my school bag — but I carry water canisters,” he says. “I return to the tent and start all over again. I feel like a miner in a movie, but this isn’t a movie — this is our daily life.”

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