When TIME reached out to the famend Palestinian poet, tutorial, and activist Refaat Alareer final month to debate how Palestinian society in Gaza was responding to the deadliest and most harmful battle to hit the enclave in dwelling reminiscence, he had quite a bit to say. “That is one thing I actually like to focus on,” he stated in a WhatsApp voice observe, noting that he’d been amassing anecdotes and encounters as a way to write an essay on the very topic. “I believe it’s obligatory for folks to grasp what’s occurring past the genocide, the bombs, and the massacres.”
However Alareer by no means bought the prospect. Final week, the 44-year-old was killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza alongside six members of his household.
Past his position instructing English literature on the Islamic College of Gaza, Alareer was maybe finest recognized for his work chronicling the Gazan expertise. Along with his personal writing, which he had printed in shops corresponding to The New York Instances, he additionally edited “Gaza Writes Again,” an anthology of quick tales by younger Palestinian writers that was printed in 2014, and co-edited “Gaza Unsilenced,” a group of essays, reportage, photos, and poetry that was printed the next yr.
To many Palestinians, Alareer was each a job mannequin and a mentor. He co-founded “We Are Not Numbers,” a non-profit established to develop a brand new era of Palestinian writers by pairing them with mentors overseas to assist them write tales in English. “His ardour was the English language, however he didn’t train it as a method of disassociating from society,” Jehad Abusalim, a Palestinian author, wrote in a tribute to his former trainer. “For Refaat, English was a software of liberation, a technique to break away from Gaza’s extended siege, a teleportation gadget that defied Israel’s fences and the mental, tutorial, and cultural blockade of Gaza.”
However to the broader world, Alareer was a outstanding, if at occasions provocative, commentator on Palestinian affairs. On Oct. 7, he brought about outrage throughout a BBC interview wherein he defended Hamas’s lethal assault, likening it to the Warsaw Ghetto Rebellion. The broadcaster later dubbed the feedback “offensive.”
Days earlier than talking with TIME, Alareer printed a poem anticipating that he is perhaps killed, titled “If I Should Die.” Within the days since his demise, the poem has gone viral, spurring its translation into dozens of languages.
Beneath, in his personal phrases, is what Alareer stated about Palestinian society, its resilience within the face of destruction, and his enduring perception within the spirit of generosity, even within the darkest of moments. His account has been edited for size and readability.
On the resilience of the Palestinian neighborhood
The Palestinian neighborhood, particularly in Gaza, has at all times been robust. There’s at all times this very robust sense of neighborhood, shared tasks, folks caring for members of the family, even distant members of the family. That is a part of our values, a part of our customs and traditions—not solely as Muslims, but additionally as Arabs, as Palestinians.
Even on the extent of kids and children. I’m undecided in the event you hear them within the background, however I’ve by no means seen the youngsters in such concord—taking part in collectively, sharing no matter dolls and video games. They’ll battle, they are often naughty typically. However they’ve by no means been this harmonious. I’ve by no means seen this.
The sense of neighborhood, the sense of coming collectively, that all of us could be killed at any second—this sense is bringing us nearer and nearer. This isn’t to romanticize battle. Battle is horrible. This sense of doom, the sense of demise coming and the gunpowder and the continuous bombardment. I’m speaking to you and the tanks are most likely 300 or 400 meters away from the place we’re in Gaza Metropolis. We may die anytime.
However we’re clinging to our humanity, and that is what I maintain saying. This might find yourself with the destruction of Gaza. Israelis promised to ship Gaza again 150 years, to show it right into a metropolis of tents. We may find yourself being displaced; a second Nakba, a extra horrible Nakba than the primary Nakba as a result of that is being televised, streamed on-line, and on social media.
As Palestinians, it doesn’t matter what comes of this, we haven’t failed. We did our greatest. And we didn’t lose our humanity.
On the generosity of individuals
I keep in mind through the first days of the Israeli genocide, I went to a store and acquired powdered milk. One other individual stated, “Can I’ve one in all these?” And the shopkeeper stated, “Sorry, it’s the final one.” And we nearly fought. I informed him, “No, you’re taking it.” And he stated, “There’s no means I can.” And I stated, “I’ve one at residence. Please take it.” You should be conversant in how Arabs at all times battle on the cashier at eating places, beating one another as much as pay. It was lovely—the person insisting he’s not going to take it, and me insisting to present it to him. However he turned it down, declined politely, on the finish.
When our constructing was bombed, we had been at residence. There was no prior warning and we needed to flee, a few of us barefoot. We simply grabbed the bag—the well-known bag in Gaza that households have close to the door in each battle with vital paperwork, cash, money, girls’s gold, et cetera. So we ran away with nothing, no meals. We left all the pieces: the flour, the cooking fuel, the eggs, the canned meals, and we went with nothing to the college shelter and folks had been welcoming regardless of the actual fact that there have been too many individuals. It was extraordinarily troublesome. We had little or no water, little or no meals. The following morning, individuals who knew that we had been bombed and got here with out something to eat shared their stuff with us. That was lovely.
Three days in the past, there was a horrible bombing right here. I went downstairs in a short time and there was a girl with two children, they usually had been crying. I ended and took two dates and gave it to the youngsters. The girl was stunned and the youngsters had been silent; they had been now not crying. I consider it’s contagious. Doing good is contagious. It makes you’re feeling achieved. It’s rewarding in the way in which you assist others. And it makes others assist others. And that is what I would like—for this to be infectious within the constructive sense. And I see folks doing this on a regular basis.
There was one other battle I nearly had with a taxi driver. You understand, in Gaza, you don’t simply take one taxi all by your self. It’s like an Uber Pool. So that you hail a taxi and he retains taking passengers on the way in which. So sooner or later, I used to be in a taxi and we drove for 5 minutes and there was a mom and her daughter. However earlier than they bought in, they stated, “However we don’t have cash.” And with out hesitating, the motive force stated, “Come.” And on the similar time, I stated, “I’ll pay for them.” And so they bought inside and he was like, “No, there’s no means I can take from you.” I stated, “There’s no means I received’t pay you as a result of I do know gas is now very costly.” And he insisted and insisted and naturally I paid.
On the humanitarian disaster
The stress, the hunger, the necessity for water, is making it much more troublesome for folks to be themselves, to be beneficiant. And I believe it’s going to develop increasingly within the coming days. Hopefully, it’s not going to get there. However individuals are actually ravenous and rationing. After I was at residence, we’d ration—eat one quarter and drink one quarter of what we normally do. Now we eat much less, we drink much less. But it surely’s unimaginable with the youngsters. I personally misplaced like 5 kilos, however I don’t care. I can eat one date for 10 or 15 hours. I’m a younger man. However how would you inform a child they will’t eat, they will’t have what they need, they will’t drink sufficient? I maintain telling my children, “Drink much less, eat much less.”
Most individuals—nearly all of folks, I might say—would purchase meals sufficient for most likely every week most, leaving the remaining for others. And each time I’d go to a store, I might personally say loudly, “What number of of those cans am I allowed to purchase?” Generally the shopkeepers can be shocked that any individual’s asking. I saved repeating that I don’t wish to hoard. I don’t wish to make folks panic, I don’t wish to purchase greater than sufficient.
A Palestinian girl lifts a placard bearing verses by Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer amid a basic strike in Ramallah on December 11, 2023.Marco Longari—AFP/Getty Photos
On offering monetary help
In the course of the wars, folks come collectively even nearer. Personally, so many issues have occurred to me and round me—issues I noticed, issues I skilled, issues I contributed to personally as any individual with cash. Financially, I made certain that my members of the family round me have the funds for to maintain themselves. Similar factor with my dad and mom. I additionally made certain that my pals and folks round me don’t want cash, that they will’t purchase issues as a result of they don’t have cash.
I additionally provided [my students] monetary assist. But it surely’s not simple to present cash to folks now. The banks and the ATMs are closed. However what I did is inform folks that in the event you want cell credit score to name folks, to name your loved ones or pals or to purchase some web package deal, simply contact me. I believe I transferred cash to about 15 cell numbers. It’s one thing I delight myself in, and I do know different folks do that, individuals who have entry to web and a web-based banking account.
On supporting his college students’ writing
I train English poetry this time period and I’ve 200 college students. I posted an announcement on our Fb group telling them I’m sorry that I can’t assist sufficient, I can’t shield them as I ought to be as a trainer defending his college students. And I requested them to write down—to write down poetry, Arabic and English articles, and I did assist a few of them publish articles and items and poems as a part of my position as a trainer, regardless of me being extraordinarily beneath stress, having my residence and my constructing bombed and having to evacuate to many locations and shelters.
I normally summarize my coverage as, to cite Hamlet, “I should be merciless to be sort.” Robust love. I inform my college students, “I am robust as a result of I like you, I care about you. I would like you to be higher college students.” So I labored them laborious when it comes to attendance and assignments and duties and exams. Many college students worry me typically in life. In college, even outdoors, they’re normally cautious even if I attempt to be as pleasant as doable. However once more, a tricky trainer is at all times feared, in a means.
I used to be queuing on the bakery and [one of my students] insisted on giving me his place and I insisted, “By no means. As a result of Israel made all people equal. He’s killing all people, he’s ravenous all people, making all people endure nearly the identical. I might by no means take your house.”
I learnt from this scholar this lovely gesture of providing me his place. As a result of providing me his place meant I may save an hour or extra. And typically you possibly can queue for 2 or three or 4 or 5 hours, by the way in which, and whenever you get shut, they run out of bread. In order that’s a giant sacrifice. Afterward, I met [another] scholar of mine. I used to be queuing means forward. He got here, heading to the again of the road, and I met him and I insisted on giving him my place, as a response to that scholar providing his place. He was shocked and he stated, “No, there isn’t any means.” I stated, “I insist.” In fact, he didn’t take the place. He refused. However once more, the gesture; the message was there. I’m certain he would do the identical for others. You understand, study by instance, by position fashions.
As a result of I taught him to write down journalistic items, I stated, “How are you? Are you writing one thing?” He stated, “I’m writing one thing.” I stated, “In the event you write one thing, ship it to me. I may ship it to the Digital Intifada, to [its editor] Ali Abunimah.” And he didn’t. He hasn’t despatched it to me. I believe I’ll go verify on him, be sure that he’s okay. And if he wrote the piece, I may help him publish it.