Gaza’s children use art to tell of the future they want for the region

After enduring more than two years of conflict, children from Gaza have shared their dreams for the future using the power of artistic expression.

More than 11,000 children aged five to 18 across Gaza participated in a UNICEF* initiative designed to give voice to the region’s youngest residents.

The Gaza We Want initiative let kids get creative when imagining how they wanted Gaza to be rebuilt after the war, which damaged or destroyed more than 80 per cent of buildings in the region.

UNICEF chief of communication in the State of Palestine* Jonathan Crickx said 1603 children answered a structured questionnaire as part of the program, while at least 11,000 children took part in a range of safe, voluntary creative activities.

“They were asked to imagine dignity*,” he said. “Children were invited to express themselves in the forms they prefer and use naturally: drawings of neighbourhoods and parks, models made from rubble and recycled materials, poems, short stories and letters.

“They also participated through group murals, plays and simple surveys, supported by trained facilitators*.”

The results showed that many of the kids wanted a sense of safety, peace and opportunity to exist in their homeland.

“These drawings and poems are not symbolic. They are data and evidence expressed in crayons, cardboard and courage,” Mr Crickx said.

“Three weeks ago in the Gaza Strip, I met Hala, a 15-year-old girl in a UNICEF temporary learning centre in Deir El Balah. She told me: ‘Missing school affected my learning a lot. Education matters for my future, so I dream of a safe life — having a secure home, my own room, and a good school where I can learn and grow.’

“In one sentence, Hala summarised what I heard so many times in Gaza: children want a proper home, they want safety and they want to be back on school benches. And all decision-makers should hear their call and consider it the utmost priority. These are not extraordinary demands. They are the fundamentals of childhood.”

WHAT GAZA’S CHILDREN HOPE FOR
Here are some of the poems written by Gaza’s children about their hopes for the future.

Lama, age 13
Gaza that I dream of

is not a tent buffeted* by the wind

nor a counter for bloodshed

ticking day and night

I dream of it as dawn

opening its windows to a peaceful sea

as a fisherman

returning with nets full of fish

not riddled with shrapnel*

I dream of it

Writing down the homework

not martyrs’* names

counting the stars in the sky

not warplanes

I dream of it as a mother

waiting for her children to come home from school

not from under the rubble

baking bread

that smells of thyme

not smoke

The Gaza I dream of

is a city that resembles life

walking barefoot on the sand

laughing

unsubmissive* to the world.

—

I am a child from Gaza, dreaming of tomorrow,

After nights of darkness and bitter pain

I dream of a home where fear has no place,

Of my mother’s voice, of the children’s laughter

I dream of my school, my notebook, and my poems,

Of a toy that thunder cannot snatch away

I am tired of a war that has stolen my innocence

And taken my little dreams away

Tell the world: Here is a child with hope,

And with dreams that grow, despite cruelty and despair.

Alaa

Name: Jana
Grade 4
Beautiful Gaza

We love Gaza deeply,

We love it without fear.

We envision it as a big home

Where children can laugh freely.

We want Gaza to have

Colourful schools,

New notebooks,

And toys in the playgrounds.

We dream of a blue sea

Where we can play safely,

And a sun that shines every day

Without the sounds of war.

We want Gaza

To sleep peacefully at night

And wake up to hope

And blossoming dreams.

Gaza, our city,

We will protect it with love,

Build it with knowledge,

And make it a place of laughter and peace.

Name: Noor Mohamad Ismail Ahmad
Grade 9
I close my eyes and look around me …

I see the warm sun shining on the balconies where colourful spring dresses swing in

the breeze.

I see children running after a ball in a narrow alley, their joyful shouts filling the air.

I see a grandmother sitting on her wooden chair, knitting a colourful shawl,

surrounded by her grandchildren, like bees around a flower.

I see the sea … stretching out like a calm blue carpet, fishermen’s feet touching its

cool water at dawn, their boats returning laden* with the day’s catch and stories.

I see a market filled with the aromas of thyme, olives, and fresh coffee, and with the

voices of vendors* shouting their wares*, competing as if they were singing.

I see a school with the doors open onto a spacious hallway. On the walls are

drawings of children who have painted their homeland in rainbow colours.

I see a small garden in front of our house, where pigeons practice flying in circles

before returning to the roof.

I see tired faces, but smiling faces, because they know that tomorrow is a better day.

I see hands planting mint and basil seeds in small pots, and other hands writing

simple dreams in notebooks: “When I grow up, I will become …”

I see the night gently covering Gaza, and the moon sending silver threads onto the

rooftops. Under this soft light, friends whisper to each other about their little plans

for happiness.

I see the dawn coming softly in peachy hues, and people waking up to the sound of a

unified call to prayer*, gathering them all in peace.

That’s what I see …

Just an ordinary life …

And it’s the most beautiful thing we could ever dream of.

If only the world could see what I see …

POLL

GLOSSARY

• UNICEF: the United Nations Children’s Fund, which advocates for the protection of children and the promotion of children’s rights
• State of Palestine: a Middle-Eastern nation-state that is made up of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
• dignity: being worthy of honour or respect
• facilitators: people to help
• buffeted: knocked around by the wind
• shrapnel: small pieces of bombs or other object thrown out by an explosion
• martyrs: people who are killed because of their beliefs
• unsubmissive: not willing to submit or give in
• laden: weighed down by
• vendors: people selling things
• wares: the items being sold by the vendors
• call to prayer: in Muslim countries, a call to prayer is issued five times a day by the muezzin, a servant of the mosque (place of worship) who recites a prescribed religious verse from the mosque’s tower or door. The call to prayer sets out many of the core religious beliefs of Islam while beckoning the faithful to complete each of their five daily prayers

EXTRA READING
Trump declares end of Gaza war
How playing helps in times of strife
Why children have a Right to Play

QUICK QUIZ
1. What is the name of the UNICEF initiative that more than 11,000 kids took part in?
2. What are some of the way that Gaza kids took part in it?
3. What are some of the things that most children wanted for their homeland?
4. How much of Gaza’s buildings have been damaged or destroyed as a result of war?
5. What does UNICEF chief of communication in the State of Palestine Jonathan Crickx describe as “the fundamentals of childhood”?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. The same but different
This news story shows us that while the children of Gaza are living in very different circumstances to children in Australia, they are also just the same, in many ways. Understanding both similarities and differences helps us build empathy and intercultural understanding.

Create a two-column table and list the things that you have in common with a child of Gaza, and the differences between you. Aim to include five thoughtful points in each column.

Be respectful and avoid stereotypes. Base your answers on information from the news story and your personal experiences in your own life.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Intercultural Understanding; Ethical Understanding

2. Extension
Hearing about the hopes of Gazan children reminds us that some aspects of life in Australia are privileges that we take for granted. Make a list of 10 simple things that you are grateful for. Elaborate on at least three of the items to explain why you are grateful for these things.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Ethical Understanding

VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB).

Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.

What can you come up with?

Remember to use your VCOP editing skills to read aloud, edit and up-level.