Saturday 21/10/2023

It’s almost midnight, and the sounds of explosions haven't ceased for 14 days. My brother and I now sleep in the stairwell of the house, while the rest of the family sleeps inside the house near the stairwell as well. There are 16 of us in the house, each with their own personal story to tell someday. Everyone is asleep except for one person who sleeps when we are awake.

No one knows when the rocket will hit the house; we don't know when the situation will worsen further. Perhaps we'll be forced to evacuate for a third time. One person remains on guard, waking us up if the situation requires us to save ourselves.

My eyes are heavy with sleep, but a nearby explosion decided to disrupt my slumber. Stones hit the door of the stairwell house. I want to sleep with peace of mind without the constant feeling of needing to flee from a shell that might follow me wherever I go.

My name is Esam, I am from Gaza. I'm trying to sleep in the stairwell house, and I demand that human rights organizations acknowledge my right to sleep without the intrusion of shells into my home. What am I saying... nonsense.