Text and photos by Awni Farhat

Palestine – No one suffers in this hot weather as much as the thousands of people made homeless in the last Israeli attacks who are now living in poor conditions in caravans and tents.

I went to Al Shujaia this evening and walked through the devastating destruction and the mountains of rubble that still remain. Some people have managed to make what was left of their homes into rough shelters, others are living in caravans where their homes used to stand. Walking through, there is no sense of life, just huge piles of rubble.

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Unexpectedly there were also yells, happy shouts and the sound of a ball hitting the ground. Laughter was coming from behind walls that were full of holes, like dozens of bullets and shells had hit them.

Photo: Awni Farhat

Photo: Awni Farhat

Curious, I went inside. I found about ten people playing futball – it was a sports club that had mostly been destroyed.

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I got talking to one of the guys and he told me:

“We cleaned the rubble and fragments from the club – most of our houses were demolished and leveled in the attacks.”

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Photo: Awni Farhat

Photo: Awni Farhat

It is shocking even for me as a Palestinian to see how much resistance and stamina my people have. They make life from nothing.

‘We Have On This Earth What Makes Life Worth Living’

Text and photos by Awni Farhat

Awni Farhat is a 25 year old freelance interpreter/translator, social worker and community activist. He has lived in Jabalia refugee camp in The Gaza Strip all his life.