We Are Not Numbers: The Voices of Gaza’s Youth

This powerful anthology edited by Alnaouq and Bailey, founders of the We Are Not Numbers (WANN) program, features essays and poems written by young people in Gaza. WANN, founded in 2014, provides aspiring young writers aged 18 to 29 in Gaza with education and mentoring opportunities. This volume showcases a decade’s worth of work from program participants, many of whom have gone on to become journalists, educators, and writers, among them the poet Mosab Abu Toha. Many of the essays center on horrific violence that the young writers have experienced at the hands of the Israeli military: bombings and beatings, the deaths of family and friends, and being forced out of family homes. Others focus on Palestinian culture—one essayist reports on a Palestinian artist who makes paintings meant to be experienced through touch—as well as everyday life in Gaza, from the peaceful escape of a family beach day to the challenge of satisfying a voracious reading appetite when physical books are hard to access. Each entry concludes with a harrowing update on the writer’s last known status as of November 2024—some have been killed by the Israeli military, while others have been forced to relocate or had their families killed and possessions destroyed. It’s a bracing testament to the fortitude of Palestinian youth, and a maddening look at the injustice in Gaza. (Sept.)