We Are Not Numbers (WANN) is a project for established in 2015 by

Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (commonly known as Euro-Med Monitor and sometimes as Euro-Med HRM) is an independent, nonprofit organization for the protection of human rights. Its main objective is to raise awareness about human rights ...

to provide English-language writing workshops for young Palestinians in Gaza. It provides each participant with six months of training and mentoring with experienced English writers, professional authors, reporters and communicators. The features, stories, news reports and social media content produced as part of the program have been featured by various media outlet, among the

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

Mondoweiss ''Mondoweiss'' is a news website that began as a general-interest blog written by Philip Weiss on ''The New York Observer'' website. It subsequently developed into a broader collaborative venture after fellow journalist Adam Horowitz joined it ...

the New Arab ''The New Arab'' or ''Al-Araby Al-Jadeed'' ( ar, العربي الجديد) is a pan-Arab news website headquartered in London. It was first launched in March 2014 as an online news website by Qatari company Fadaat Media. It went on to establis ...

, the Palestine Chronicle and

+972 Magazine ''+972 Magazine'' is a left-wing news and opinion webzine established in August 2010 by a group of four Israeli writers in Tel Aviv. Noam Sheizaf, a co-founder and the ''+972'' chief executive officer, said they wanted to express a new "and most ...

Background

WANN was launched in February 2015 to provide mentorship for young writers from Gaza on English-language content creation. The project originated in the personal mentorship by Euro-Med Monitor's Pam Bailey of a depressed Gazan youth, identified as Ibraham, who had lost a brother and close friends in an Israeli airstrike. Bailey encourage Ibrahim to write about his experiences, which he did. The receptivity of international outlets for the resulting article became a "turning point" for Ibrahim that led him to found WANN together with Bailey.

Activities

The program provides each participant with six months' training with native English-speaking mentors, and began in 2015 with around 40 young people from Gaza writing on an English-language blog while receiving mentoring from experienced authors and journalists. The aim was to open a window to "the people behind the numbers in the news". A year later, the project had grown to involve more than 75 writers from Gaza, and was supported by mentors including Susan Abulhawa,

Miko Peled Miko Peled (born 1961) is an Israeli-American activist, author, and karate instructor. He is author of the books ''The General’s Son: The Journey of an Israeli in Palestine'' and ''Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five''. He is ...

Alice Rothchild Alice Rothchild (born 1948) is an American obstetrician, filmmaker, and social-justice activist. Her films include the documentary Voices Across the Divide, the co-winner of the 2013 Audience Award at the Boston Palestine Film Festival (with A World ...

and Ben Norton. In August 2016, Bailey was denied entry to Israel, despite having a permit to enter Gaza, on account of her 'illegal' work. A lawyer suggested she had been added to a blacklist of Palestinian and international NGOs involved with human rights advocacy. In 2019, a collection of works from the project was published in German as the book ''We Are Not Numbers: Young Voices from Gaza'' (german: We Are Not Numbers: Junge Stimmen aus Gaza). The following year, WANN launched a Hebrew-language website called We Beyond the Fence to provide Israelis with access Palestinian articles, poems and personal essays about life in Gaza. In 2021, WANN was involved with 30 NGOs and other organizations, and had at that point mentored 300 young Palestinian writers. WANN had also expanded into providing virtual online tours of Gazan cities, sponsoring talks by Palestinian intellectuals and activists, and providing mental health support to its writers. In 2023, the program accepted its 17th cohort of prospective writers.

Content and aims

WANN is a platform to encourage creativity and writing among the youth in Gaza by having them share their stories and experiences. WANN distinguishes itself by encouraging its writers to focus on the everyday lives and challenges of people rather than the narratives of war and conflict that dominate mainstream news cycles. While some WANN stories are political, the primary aim of the stories is to shed a personal light on the conflict, blockade, poverty and despair that define the lives of the writers. They also explore themes of hope, resilience, and the power of storytelling as a means of resistance. Despite living under difficult circumstances, the writers find solace in their Palestinian identity and use writing as a way to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about Gaza. The project has gained attention from international readers and media, amplifying the voices and experiences of young Gazans beyond their borders. In contrast to the political calls to armed resistance in Gaza, WANN's writers draw inspiration from non-violent advocates such as

Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

and

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

References

Sources

External links

*Namey, Isra (20 Apr 2017)
Writers aim to challenge stereotypes about Gaza.

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...