Wednesday 25/10/2023

Winter is coming. My friends and I used to compare Gaza’s streets with those of Paris, mocking how bad our infrastructure is. Rain floods neighborhoods, water enters houses and sometimes people would use small boats for transportation. Sewage pipes would get clogged and a stinky smell fills up the place.

Those who like winter long for it, just like lovers who wish to live a unique feeling under the rain, and sometimes they can experience this for a very short while, asthey steel those moments, away from the gaze of their parents. This city doesn’t recognize lovers unless through marriage. They steal kisses and hugs in alleys, or in staircases. 

This winter, they’re texting under a blanket of Israeli missiles without hugs.  They stand in long queues for hours, just  to get some drinking water and bread. This winter is going to be very bitter, houses are completely demolished, with holes in their walls and ceilings, and no embraces to make the cold gentler. 

Many families have set up tents in the South. I have found out later, that the streets of Paris are full of rats, fleas - and that the streets of Gaza are more beautiful, if it weren’t for what the occupation is doing. .