“For Gazans, war is like the weather, we live through it continually. We have no say in it; it just comes and goes, from the day we’re born. Most Gazans have never left the Strip; they don’t know what life feels like where war is not the norm; they don’t know what freedom is either. They know they want it, but they’ve never really tasted it.”
― Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide
― Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide
“One of the things you have to do during times like these is listen to the news and follow every statement, every scrap of new information. But at the same time, it’s unbearable to listen. The way they talk about us, refer to us, speak for us, decide things for us, without ever asking any of us to speak, is disgusting.”
― Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide
― Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide
“Memories of war are strangely positive, because to have them you must have survived.”
― Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide
― Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide
“The challenges facing Palestinians are harder than anything we could have imagined; the moment the challenge isn’t just ‘how to survive today’, a whole world of future suffering will open up to us. I remembered my early thought, when I was in the north, that the real war starts when the military operations end. It’s true, both politically and at the level of human drama. When the guns are shut down, the pain and despair of ordinary people will come to the surface. It will be that moment of realisation: both of the loss they’ve suffered and the new conditions they have to live with. In this sense, thinking of tomorrow is more difficult than thinking of today.”
― Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide
― Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide
“Some kids have invented a new, clever way of making sure their story is told, or at least recorded, even after they’ve been torn to pieces by an Israeli missile. To make sure their bodies are recognised they have taken to writing their names, with markers, on their hands and legs. They are sharing this practice on social media. Some are even writing their family’s mobile numbers so they can be called and informed of their death. It is almost impossible to think about the world carrying on after we die, but these kids are doing it: putting their loved ones first, hoping to lessen their suffering by saving them from the purgatory of not knowing. They do it also, I think, for themselves: the idea of dying and not being mourned by anyone is unbearable.”
― Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide
― Don't Look Left: A Diary of Genocide
Mojtaba’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Mojtaba’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Mojtaba
Lists liked by Mojtaba








































