Writing with trauma: Israeli and Palestinian authors speak DW 10/21/2025
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Writing with trauma: Israeli and Palestinian authors speak  DW  10/21/2025
"Palestinian writer Atef Abu Saif could hardly hide his outrage. The Israeli military had destroyed not just buildings, but an entire culture, he told DW. He wants to use the medium of writing to save whatever is still salvageable. But what can you save in a war-torn wasteland? All that remains are memories, the author says. Saif is among the best-known Palestinian writers, his reputation derived in part from the fact that he served as the Palestinian Authority's Minister for Culture from 2019 to 2024,"
"Unlike in previous wars, he was gripped by fear for the life of his youngest son, and his own, when this latest conflict broke out. Only after nearly three months of suffering and destruction, while enduring the loss of family members killed in the attacks and being injured himself, was he finally able to leave the Gaza Strip with his son."
Atef Abu Saif expresses outrage at the destruction of buildings and an entire culture in Gaza. He seeks to use writing to save whatever remains, insisting that memories are all that remain. Born in Jabalia refugee camp, he later moved to the West Bank and served as Palestinian Authority Minister for Culture from 2019 to 2024 and as a Fatah spokesman. On October 7, 2023, he was visiting Gaza with his son and feared for their lives. He endured nearly three months of attacks, lost family members, was injured, and eventually left Gaza. He published Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide to document the horrors and recover identity.
Read at www.dw.com
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