My name is Esam...

I'm from Gaza, Palestine. I'm 27 years old and I studied English Literature. I've been writing poetry since 2014  and I've worked as a children's creative writing instructor.

I've witnessed 6 episodes of occupation army aggression in Gaza. The Israeli occupation killed a lot of my friends and family members, only because we, are fighting for our right to live, a right that the occupation deems us unworthy of. 

I write to show the world the truth of the Palestinian cause. To show the world the truth of the crimes and genocide that the occupation has been committing for the past 75 years.

I write so that the world would know that our most basic rights to life and safety are being stripped away. So that everyone would know that I can't travel and work on my cause, I only have my words.

I write so that the world would know our real story, so they would know that the occupation is painting a warped story of us, an ugly story that the world knows through them but we, we have the right to defend ourselves. 

I love writing and I feel the thrill of victory when I write. I have a poetry collection that's yet to be published and I'm currently writing a booklet on how to get Palestinian fiction out to the world while preserving its essence.

If I were to reveal myself using one word, it would be "contemplative" - I contemplate the past so I can build a new understanding of the present. And to be part of making meaning.

I gathered a team to work on The House of Wisdom in 2020. We met weekly for 3 months at the Qattan Cultural Center in Gaza. The aim was to deepen our knowledge of self through mujaawarah and to express ourselves through ways we deemed fitting. The result of that as a valuable toolkit explaining what we do. 

I'm currently under seige in Gaza, in Al Zaytoon neighborhood with my family and my aunt's family in the same house after we had to flee our house in Al Shuja'iyya.