Three Stories of Life in Gaza during the CoronavirusPandemic

In “Three Stories of Life in Gaza during the Coronavirus Pandemic,” Palestinian editor and journalist Walaa Ghuseein compiled three first-person diaries from the Gaza Strip. The diarists describe their daily lives while simultaneously under a siege that blocks essential supplies and restricts movements and in the midst of a dangerous pandemic. Khalil AlSaqqa, an aspiring engineer, reflects on his proximity to state violence and death prior to the pandemic state-of-emergency. He notes that in Gaza people “have witnessed a life that is way worse than the COVID-19 pandemic, this explains why life in Gaza didn’t take a long time to get back to normal – back to Gaza’s abnormal normal” (Ghussein). For AlSaqqa, the days when nobody he knows dies from Israeli state violence are the ones that stand out.

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Nabulsieh recounts his work at the Rafah Crossing Field Hospital, which attempted to protect Palestinians from the pandemic despite the limitations imposed by the ongoing Israeli siege and the hospital’s vulnerability. Despite his determination, Al-Nabulsieh was shaken by his experience working with COVID-19 patients in Gaza, describing a “great fear” (Ghussein) that he will never forget.

Gazan business owner Meera AlBaba recounts finding comfort in social rituals, family, and home during semi-lockdown Ramadan, describing it as an “optional escape from my politicized reality” (Ghussein). Mingled with expressions of devastation over the siege on Gaza and the threat of the pandemic is the diarists’ hope in the possibility of healing and their determination to contribute as much as they can to their communities, exemplifying Gazan resilience before and during the pandemic.