Amidst All The Images Coming Out Of Palestine Of Death And Destruction Created By The Zionist Occupation,

Amidst all the images coming out of palestine of death and destruction created by the zionist occupation, i think it is important that we take a moment to remember palestine as it was- seen and captured through the eyes of talented photographers like Shahed @shahednhall and remember exactly what was senselessly lost in the past few months.

This is Al-Azhar university, where Shahed used to study. She was an exemplary student, and used to get regularly invited by her teachers to give lectures.

Since the university was bombed and destroyed by the IOF, all she has left are these pictures. Even through all the violence and death around her though, she still makes sure to keep up with her studies through the university's online programme.

This is a shop Shahed had visited only some time before october. She told me it was run by an artist who painted these beautiful home items, and engraved them by hand with customers names. Shahed had photographed them because they were so eye-catching and beautiful, and had sent the woman her photos so she could use them to promote the shop.

Shahed has told me this shop isnt there any more. She is currently trying to get in touch with the woman who used to run this shop again, but shahed doesn't know if she is even alive or not.

Shahed has an eye for beauty in all things, and it shows in her work and in conversation. It has taken on a different meaning now when so much of everything she knows has been stolen by the occupation from her and other palestinians like her.

In her own words:

"As you know, I like to photograph a lot, everyone liked my photography. I was filming everything because a memory can never come back again. This sentence is not understood by many. I am happy because I photograph everything."

What had been a hobby of collecting moments for her has now become something of an archive of all the things in Palestine that have been lost to the zionist occupation.

Shahed's outlook on her photography tends to colour our conversation as well. She finds it is more productive to talk to me about her hope for a better future, rather than all the bleakness around her right now.

"Yes, because I see inside every picture of new hope, I feel a great motivation that I will survive to see that life is more beautiful than what I live at the moment. I seek to return to a life that is more beautiful than the one we live now, a very difficult life because it has turned black and white."

I don't know how anyone can look at her photos and think of anything but hope

The mainstream media in the west and elsewhere can lie all they like- but we will know always that palestine was and is a land full of beautiful people. Never forget that the death, illness and destruction in palestine today was something imposed upon them by the colonizers, and has been imposed upon them for decades.

Shahed doesn't like to share images of misery with me, but please remember that she and her family are suffering right now. The happy children in the pictures, her little sisters, are suffering from severe hepatitis and are no longer recieving treatment due to overcrowding at what hospitals are left in gaza. Shahed herself has been weak and ill for days, narrowly surviving multiple massacres in just the past few days while trying to get food for her family. They all got displaced just last week due to the intense bombing in khan younis, and in doing so have lost precious funds that could have gone into food and clean water. They are starving.

Shahed is only 21 years old but the responsibility of taking care of all 17 of her family members rests solely on her shoulders.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT. PLEASE HELP SHAHED EVACUATE HER FAMILY TO SAFETY.

She has only gotten $47k/80k, and she needs to get to $50k within this week.

gofundme.com

Donate to Help Shahd in Gaza!, organized by Shahed Muhammad

Have you ever experienced seeing your dream broken in front of your eyes and not being able to do … Shahed Muhammad needs your support for H

This gfm was verified and appears on hussein @/el-shab-hussein and nairuz @/nabulsi list of vetted fundraisers (#224) so please dont hesitate to donate whatever you can, and please keep sharing!!!

Take this as a call to action, please repost her her fundraiser in your discord servers, in your whatsapp groups. Repost her photgraphy and share her story on whatever social media you have reach, so that people can help because i really cant get her to her goal in time alone.