YOUNG PALESTINIANS SPEAK

Children, teens, and 20-somethings, from all over Gaza Strip and the West Bank, speak in their own voices about their daily experiences of living under occupation.

After explaining what the occupation is and how it affects those living under it, the authors organize the book into chapters by the places they visited: Ramallah, Jenin, Nablus, Qattana, Sebastiya, Gaza, Beit Ur, and Hebron. In each, following some background information, the young people interviewed speak for themselves. Children from Ramallah express their fear of Israeli settlers who sometimes fire bullets at them. A common sentiment is expressed by 20-year-old Muath: “It’s not normal to be a prisoner in your country.” Mohammed, 17, says: “I hate seeing the Wall. It’s wrong; it shouldn’t be there.” Checkpoints and walls are a constant in the lives of Palestinian youth. A 10-year-old in Nablus is one of many who expresses the fear he feels at the sight of an Israeli soldier. What readers will discover is that these young Palestinians want the same things young people want everywhere: a stable family life, the freedom to move about their country, and a safe and secure space in which to grow up. This is these young Palestinians’ story; readers interested in the Israeli perspective will need to look elsewhere.

A poignant, powerful, and insightful collection of voices seldom heard.