Lessons I learned from Gazans

[You can read it in Uzbek here]

I read this article a few months ago that I later saw on LinkedIn multiple times. It was written by a Palestinian girl about how she lost her brother during the war and shared some memories of him. Like any other human being, I was deeply moved. Numbers like 20,000 or 40,000 deaths in the news, don't mean anything to us. But hearing the story of just one of those thousands of people makes us realise what they are going through. Despite being so much moved by the story, I felt thousands of kilometers away from it. But, low and behold, I met this Palestinian girl, a few days ago!

She had come to EPFL for a four-month internship last September, along with another girl. Due to the ongoing situation in Gaza, their stay was extended for a year. I would never have guessed she was the same girl from the article if she hadn’t said she writes sometime and I hadn’t asked to read some of her work. Talking to her, I realized that if this trial had been given to any other nation, they would have failed it. Here are some of my impressions of her:

Her character is incredibly strong. You would never guess her family lives in a war zone, that she lost a family member, or that she may never see her family again. One striking aspect of her character is that she doesn't see herself, her family, or any Gazans as victims of the war. She confidently believes they are on the right path, and the opposite side are the true victims of the war. She described the changes before and after the war: "When I lived with my family before the war, one of our values was to always help others and never ask for help. Even if we had to accept aid, we would repay it with as much as we had received or more. But after the war started, we couldn't uphold this value anymore. Now, Gazans are forced to rely on outside help." Hearing this, I was mindblown. What a strong sense of dignity and humanity one should have to think of family values in the state of a war!? What level of faith should be there, when one does not even know whether they will be alive tomorrow or not, and the first thing they care about is loosing their values and dignity!? Another Gazan girl also said, "Before the war, when people asked where I was from, I would say Gaza because it's completely different from the West Bank. But after the war, I say I'm Palestinian because if I mention Gaza, people look at me with pity, and I hate it."

She also talked a little about what her family members are busy with these days. One of her sisters spends her days reading books. Another one, believe it or not, is studying digital marketing! Since the Internet is blacked out in many places in Gaza, she walks for an hour every day to study it. "The commuting path itself is also not safe", she says. Can you imagine, during the war, when she doesn't know if she will be alive tomorrow, she is risking her life to study digital marketing!? Why? She says, "If you die, that's it, the life ends, but if you happen to survive, the life must continue after the war." Then she added, "Later, when she applies for a job, she may be asked why there is a gap in her CV." When hear about the "CV" part, I was left speechless.

These are just a couple of examples I could remember. Words fall short to express my impressions. Talking to them, I saw how Gazans cope with these challenges. A nation of such dignity, humanity and faith can never be defeated. After all, how can one defeat a people who are certain that they are the ones on the right path!?

These are not some fairytales about the people who lived thousands of years ago, these are our contemporaries who live in the same era as us. The very fact that these people are contemporaries with us removes all the excuses for our shortcoming in our actions and deeds. Now, I am not worried about the Gazans anymore, I am worried about us! They have placed a great responsibility on our shoulders, given all the opportunities, comfort, and freedom we have, and removed all our excuses we would have for the weakness of our faith. May God forgive us for all our shortcomings!

The least we can do for the Gazans, is to mention them in our prayers. May God accept those who have been killed as martyrs, free Gaza from any occupation, and grand us Guidance and Tawfeeq.

Lausanne, Switzerland

16.07.2024