When I was a school student, every morning, we would gather in the schoolyard and sing songs dedicated to our land, Palestine. Many of our classes would teach us about our culture and traditions deeply rooted in Palestinian land.

Every March 30, we would mark Land Day. Girls would wear embroidered dresses and boys would wear white shirts and keffiyeh. We would sing under a raised Palestinian flag and commemorate the Palestinian land struggle.

I fully realised the true meaning of what I was taught about this struggle only when I faced displacement from my home, when I faced the very real possibility of losing my land.

I was born and raised in the Shujayea neighbourhood on the eastern flank of Gaza City. It is a centuries-old neighbourhood, where farmers and traders settled. Over time, it became one of Gaza’s most densely populated neighbourhoods, known for its strong community ties and history of resistance. It is no coincidence that one of its most prominent people was Dr Refaat Alareer, a poet, a scholar, and my professor in English, who inspired me to write and........

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