Deprived Of The Oxygen We Breathe In Gaza: Education

Deprived of the Oxygen We Breathe in Gaza: Education

I took so much pride in telling Irish students and professors at my Irish university how proud we, Palestinians, are of having one of the lowest rates of illiteracy in the Arab World (Approximately 1%) and how much we cherish education. I also shed light on how the ongoing genocide has deprived students across all levels of their right to a proper education by bombing schools and universities and making the living conditions in Gaza just hellish.

Having been a lecturer at the Islamic University in Gaza (IUG) for two years, I have always seen the passion and determination in the eyes of my students whenever they talked about their life goals and dreams. Not only did this war kill their dreams but also killed many of my students. One of them is the smiling young man in the middle of the picture below Mohammed.

Mohammed was known for always having a big smile on his face that would brighten not only the lecture halls but also our days. I look at my chat with Mohammed on Facebook and think to myself: Is there any hope he would reply to his teacher if he were to send him a message?! Take all the marks you want, but please say something! Please reply!

For my students, education is a bridge to success in life and an opportunity to get equipped with the skills and knowledge they crave. It means talking to experts in their fields, mingling with like-minded people, and having exciting experiences. In addition, education is indisputably a noble form of resistance and entrenching existence. It is our most cherished tool to preserve our culture, values, and commitment to our land and rights as Palestinians. Depriving students of education is equal to depriving them of Oxygen.  

This was the ending part of a play performed by my students named 'Sounds from Heaven'. It embodied the characters of iconic Palestinian martyrs like Al-Jazeera Palestinian American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh.

Four months into the war, I was evacuated to Ireland to pursue my studies. Looking over my shoulder to see my greatly damaged house and family running from death from one place to another felt like ripping my soul out of my body. How does one work on his PhD research in such circumstances? How do you process all the near-death experiences and horrible images in your head from the war? What kind of therapy helps you cope with and accept your constant worry about your family? None! As the hope of a ceasefire diminishes every minute, the only solution I am left with is to evacuate my family from Gaza to Egypt until peace and life revisit my beautiful Gaza.

[Vetted by el-shab-hussein. # 151 on the list of Vetted Gaza Fundraisers List] 🍉🍉🍉

@riding-with-the-wild-hunt @ibtisams @vakarians-babe @90-ghost @sayruq @fairuzfan @sar-soor @fallahifag @el-shab-hussein @taamarrud @humanvoicebox @plomegranate @queerstudiesnatural @commissions4aid-international @nabulsi @stil-lindigo @soon-palestine @communistchilchuck @palestinegenocide @northgazaupdates2 @northgazaupdates @ghost-and-a-half @kyra45-helping-others @kyra45 @commissions4aid-international @feluka

Please help me achieve my goal by sharing my story, donating, and reblogging.

gofundme.com

Donate to Death chases my family in Gaza; help me save them, organized by Mahmoud Ibrahim

People say: "Family always comes First," and to that, I say: "Amen!"… Mahmoud Ibrahim needs your support for Death chases my family in Gaza;

List of myths about Papyrus

This is not all myths, but the most popular. I do not want to say obvious things on bad english, so I will be as brief as possible. Fanon: Doesn’t understand sarcasm and doesn’t know how to use it. Canon: 

Keep reading

From Gaza to Ireland: Out of the Fire of War to the Fire of Soul-Crushing Survival Guilt and Fear for my Family

Note: My main account (@mahmoudkhalafff) was unfortunately terminated by Tumblr for no reason. This is my back up account. Please continue to boost my campaign. We are too close!

At times of peace, having to be away from your family for months and years is a high price you pay for obtaining an academic degree or securing a better job. Imagine while you are away, they were trapped in a besieged strip of land and thousands of missiles rained down on that besieged area of 360 km² around the clock for almost 11 months. That would crush every cell of your mind and drive you crazy, wouldn't it?!

Imagine suddenly getting addicted to watching the news and the gory videos and pictures all the freaking time. You follow relevant social media pages that only show images, videos, and stories of entire families that were wiped out in an instant in an airstrike and deemed as collateral insignificant damage. While plunging deeper and deeper into an unprecedented state of acute depression, I wondered: how come all my suffering from displacement, fear, and hunger in Gaza for 5 months during the war before being evacuated to Ireland is nothing but a drop compared to my ocean of suffering now?

The constant thinking of my family in Gaza during the genocide and all the potential scenarios is consuming my sanity and mental health at a time in my life and a place where I am required to be 199% focused and productive. To give you a glimpse of my horrible psychological suffering these days: I fear going to sleep because I know horrible horrible nightmares are waiting for me on the other side. Some have to do with the horrors of wars I witnessed in Gaza myself and others relate to the horrible potential scenarios I keep thinking about.

Seeing the images and pictures of Gaza makes you think a thousand earthquakes hit every neighborhood of the Gaza Strip! Nothing and no one has been spared. The horrific war has turned the place into a hell on earth, unfortunately. How can young people have any hope for a better future seeing the mass destruction and the relentless Israeli efforts to stifle Gaza and squeeze hope out of its people as a form of collective punishment. How monstrous and heartless!!!

Amid all this chaos and madness, my number one priority and focus is evacuating my family to Egypt as a first step and hopefully reuniting with them in Ireland at a later stage.

Please do consider helping me save my family by donating, reblogging, and sharing.

Note: Vetted by:

1. @el-shab-hussein and @nabulsi # 151 on the spreadsheet of Vetted Gaza Fundraisers List]

2. @riding-with-the-wild-hunt Here .

gofundme.com

Donate to Death chases my family in Gaza; help me save them, organized by Mahmoud Khalaf

People say: "Family always comes First," and to that, I say: "Amen!".… Mahmoud Khalaf needs your support for Death chases my family in Gaza;

Tagging for reach <3

@riding-with-the-wild-hunt @ibtisams @vakarians-babe @90-ghost @sayruq @fairuzfan @sar-soor @fallahifag

@el-shab-hussein @taamarrud @humanvoicebox

@plomegranate @queerstudiesnatural @commissions4aid-international @nabulsi @stil-lindigo @soon-palestine @communistchilchuck @palestinegenocide @northgazaupdates2 @northgazaupdates @ghost-and-a-half @kyra45-helping-others @kyra45 @commissions4aid-international @feluka @appsa

Like, guys, who gives a shit what people ship?!

Like, as long as it’s not, like, glorifying incest, pedophilia, sexual assault, any forms of abuse (ie emotional, physical, financial, mental, etc.),or actually toxic relationships, whether in the source material or not, then, and I’ll say it again

WHO GIVES A SHIT?!?!

Just let people enjoy themselves and their fandoms please

A list of things Papyrus says/that are said about him that are… disturbing, to say the least, especially when compared to similar things others say. There’s probably more, but these are the first to come to mind.

Thanks to @zekestrife and @fandomhop for some of the screenshots! And some youtube videos. You can tell which screenshots are mine because they generally have that blue border around them.