With the recent March on Washington, I hope the world will finally see that Gaza matters and there are people who care about Gaza. Speaking up, using your voice and your body to advocate when you can is so important. I have written about my experience at a Pro-Palestine protest; advocating using my body to march and raise my fists, and I hope it will inspire readers to attend a protest themselves and not feel afraid. I have shared about the importance of using your voice in an open letter to those in power, and I dearly hope readers will take advantage of the resources provided and speak up. Today I am writing about seeing Gaza.
There are no better eyes to see Gaza through than the reporters in Gaza, risking their lives to show us the truth everyday, and hoping that we are listening. These are four reporters in Gaza that you should follow on Instagram right now.
Bisan (@wizard_bisan1) is a 25 year old woman reporting from Gaza. She begins every video with “I’m still alive”. She tells stories of her own life and documents those around her. She gives as many updates as she can about the state of Gaza and its people, but it has been harder recently due to limited internet access. The moments when Gaza is cut off from the world are scariest, because no one knows what is going on.
Motaz (@motaz_azaiza) is a 24 year old man reporting from Gaza. He shares videos and photos specifically to showcase the violence in Gaza from the rubble. They can be disturbing and graphic, but it is important to pay attention to what is going on in Gaza.
Abod (@abod_bt77) is a 17 year old boy who has been forced too fast to grow up into a man, reporting from Gaza. He reports in his native language with a smile on his face amid the destruction, speaking to children and adults alike. Listen to him so that he might be able to smile from a place of safety soon.
Plestia (@byplestia) is a 22 year old woman reporting from Gaza. She asks on her page for her audience to “see Gaza through my eyes”. She shares about how she cannot stand that it has been a month of her people being killed. She also talks about how the press vest and helmet hurt her head and back. Despite this, she is still trying to push forward.
The change in tone of the voices coming out of Gaza over the past month of bombings have been heartbreaking. Roughly half of the citizen reporters in Gaza have been killed. These four reporters began with an optimism and energy that they could not be expected to maintain under the circumstances they are (barely) living in. Many of their posts now consist of heartbreaking accounts of their feelings of hopelessness. Motaz, Plestia, Bizan, and Abod do not have the energy to keep filming the destruction of their own people and lives. It is up to us to take the messages they have given us and amplify them, lift them up so that they can rest. So that soon, all of Gaza can rest and breathe easy.
I will continue to write about Gaza until the violence stops. I truly hope that the world does not give me too much more to write about.