In a bid to keep Palestinian culture alive, children sheltering in Rafah, southern Gaza, have created stunning pictures of historical buildings destroyed in the war.
The youngsters - whose smiling faces belie the horrors they are experiencing - pose with their artwork at a Christian Aid supported shelter in Al-Mawasi, northern Rafah.
Amal, 11, beams as she displays her image of Qasr Al-Basha in Gaza City. Also known as Pasha Palace, it previously housed a museum of antiquity and Al-Zahraa Secondary School for Girls before being reduced to rubble.
Ibtisama, who is 13, stands holding her vibrant picture of a red and yellow Omari Mosque under a brilliant blue sky. The oldest mosque in Gaza, based in Daraj, Gaza City, is also known as the 'Great Mosque of Gaza'. It too lies in ruins.
Hundreds of youngsters have flocked to art sessions run by artists and volunteers and organised by the Culture and Free Thought Association (CFTA), Christian Aid’s Palestinian partner.
For many children, the sessions are the first opportunity they have had to pick up a pencil or crayon in months.
William Bell, Christian Aid’s Head of Middle East Policy & Advocacy, said: “No child should ever experience what Gazan children are experiencing; seeing their parents killed, friends maimed, and homes destroyed.
“For a brief moment, when they are colouring in, they are able to put the horrors of war to one side and just be children again.
“Their artwork consolidates the cultural identity of Gaza and keeps it – and their hopes – alive. But only an immediate and permanent ceasefire will deliver them from the hell on earth they are experiencing.”
Muhammad Abu Lihia, a visual artist who is helping to deliver the project for CFTA, said: “I felt that the children had cultural and artistic awareness and sensitivity with the recolouring of each archaeological landmark of Gaza.
“Their integration, love, and awareness of the importance of what they were doing greatly alleviated the difficulties of displacement and supported them psychologically.”
CFTA Community Mobilizer, Buthaina Al-Faqawi, said that when the children arrive at the art sessions “The first look is despair and misery. The second look is hope. The third look is love of life and childhood. Please...we deserve life, we deserve better.”
As of early April, UNESCO had verified damage to 43 sites – including Pasha Palace and Omari Mosque – since October 7th. They include 10 religious sites, 24 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, two depositories of movable cultural property, three monuments, one museum and three archaeological sites.[1] The organisation has expressed “deep concern” about the impact of the ongoing conflict on cultural heritage.[2]
Notes to editors:
All children’s names have been changed.
