The sixth and final episode of Gaza Voices for 2024 features a conversation with 22-year-old Deema Jad, a Gaza City native, recorded on May 2, 2024. Deema and her father lived in Cairo with her aunt at the time, while her mother and siblings remained in Gaza.

Deema recounts her life before the war, working at an NGO, enjoying cooking, and cherishing her close-knit family. She then describes the harrowing events during the war that began on October 7, 2023.

Deema shares her journey with her father and young nephew to Rafah, walking under IDF presence, and contrasts this with her mother's refusal to leave Gaza, rooted in her identity as a 1948 Nakba refugee. Deema and her father eventually fled to Egypt, leaving behind her mother and siblings.

Deema reflects on the deep sadness of family separation as she is in Cairo and conveys a powerful message: no one should endure the suffering experienced by Palestinians.

This marks the last episode of 2024 as the Gaza Voices team pauses to rest and reflect.

Write us here: info_gazavoices@posteo.com

Follow us on YouTube & Instagram and visit our website www.gaza-voices.com

Chapters: 

Intro and recap (0:00 - 2:26) 

Chapter 1: Pre Oct 7: My life before the war (2:27 - 7:01)

Chapter 2: Post Oct 7: My whole October was just evacuating (7:02 - 27:02)

Chapter 3: Rafah: The south turned me to an emotionless body (27:03 - 39:01)

Chapter 4: Leaving Gaza: I started to feel everything (39:02 - 53:31)

Outro: (53:32 - 60:00)

Transcript:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-cd_rBB95HAQtmuX2FEJ5Q0K3npqBI0tcGcCWezdmt8/edit?usp=sharing

Music Credits:

Zaytun by Dania (intro)

The Well by Alexandra Spence (outro)

Sources:

1. https://www.refugeesinternational.org/palestine-israel/#:~:text=Advocacy%20for%20Palestine%2FIsrael&text=The%20Palestinian%2DIsraeli%20conflict%20has,decades%20of%20substantial%20humanitarian%20needs.

2. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/06/palestinians-will-not-be-allowed-to-return-to-homes-in-northern-gaza-says-idf&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1733422397509568&usg=AOvVaw0nDpOJv6MYdA24o-c_cUia

3. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8ygyem84jo&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1733422397509274&usg=AOvVaw1U3tdYCz455ZKtXblJGiJ3

4. https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/PSE/west-bank-and-gaza/literacy-rate#:~:text=West%20Bank%20and%20Gaza%20literacy%20rate%20for%202020%20was%200.00,a%200.16%25%20increase%20from%202018.

5. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/un-experts-deeply-concerned-over-scholasticide-gaza

6. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/13/israels-evacuation-order-for-gaza-death-sentence-for-patients-who-says

7. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/as-israels-bombing-hits-declared-safe-zones-palestinians-trapped-in-gaza-find-danger-everywhere

8. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67327079

9. https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/half-million-civilians-caught-northern-gaza-siege-within-siege-oxfam

10. https://www.ft.com/content/05ec1912-d077-4ad9-bd14-d17ca297cf67

11. https://www.ft.com/content/5e2b06cf-9ee4-473e-8bd8-bd0ff9d454a4

12. https://www.nrc.no/news/2024/february/gaza-israels-military-operation-in-rafah-would-be-fatal-for-displaced-civilians-and-humanitarian-aid/