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We Are Not Numbers

We Are Not Numbers

The Voices of Gaza’s Youth

Summary

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'This book is a jailbreak and a miracle' NAOMI KLEIN

'We Are Not Numbers is not just a book — it's my life, their life, and our shared story . . . This is Gaza as it truly is, written by those who live it every day' MOTAZ AZIZA

'Powerful, humane and heroic . . . the voices of Palestinians soar. This is the most important collection of writing published today. It’s a book the world must know' JENNI FAGAN


Following the 2014 Gaza War and decades of oppression and resistance, storytelling platform We Are Not Numbers (WANN) was founded to give a voice to the youth of Gaza. Since then, young Palestinians, mostly living in the besieged Gaza Strip, have used the platform to chronicle the human impact of occupation and blockade. In doing so, they have passionately fought to be recognised not as numbers but as human beings with lives, hopes, and dreams.

Ten years on, this collection brings together the most impactful essay contributions of the last decade from emerging Palestinian writers, offering a sobering, tender, inspiring, and humanising view of Palestine through the eyes of its next generation of leaders. In an epilogue covering the most recent war in Gaza, the collection's editors Ahmed Alnaouq and Pam Bailey reflect on the personal tragedies they have faced - including the deaths of 21 of Ahmed's family members in a single bomb blast - as well as those writers able to take WANN's work forward and those no longer alive to do so.

In a rallying cry to onlookers around the world, We Are Not Numbers offers unparalleled insight into the real lives of the people of Gaza and imagines where we might go from here.

Reviews

  • Powerful, humane and heroic . . . the voices of Palestinians soar. This is the most important collection of writing published today. It’s a book the world must know
    Jenni Fagan

About the authors

Ahmed Alnaouq

Ahmed Alnaouq grew up in Gaza where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from al-Azher University. Ahmed was the inspiration for, and original project manager of, We Are Not Numbers. He later won the UK’s prestigious Chevening scholarship and earned a master’s degree in international journalism from Leeds University. He also serves as advocacy and outreach officer for the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. Ahmed’s writings have been published by the Gulf News, New Arab, and other websites. He is currently based in London.
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Pam Bailey

Pam Bailey is a freelance journalist and social-justice activist. She lived and worked in the Gaza Strip immediately following the 2008/9 Israeli assault. Today, she is a communications consultant and writer/editor for nonprofits such as ImpACT International for Human Rights Policies. She has also founded More Than Our Crimes, a nonprofit initiative focused on assuring second chances for individuals convicted of violent crimes in the United States. She is based in Washington DC.
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