Empower Amna’s Art, Raise Gaza’s Voice

Greetings from Gaza!

 I’m Amna, a young artist living in a tent with my family, hoping each day to survive. Before the war, I had just started college studying multimedia, full of hope and dreams. 

Our home was destroyed (along with our schools and hospitals, and all of Gaza). We’ve been displaced many times. Life became hard, and all my dreams vanished like smoke.

My father, living with diabetes, struggles to provide us with the basic necessities. He inspires us by helping others, no matter how desperate our circumstances, building bathrooms and distributing homemade food to our tent neighbors. I refuse to be broken by my circumstances, even though we struggle daily to secure the basics—food, water, and shelter.

Despite the constant fear of death that surrounds us, I have come to believe that life is worth fighting for, and I will continue to resist through digital art.

Your contribution:

 ~ Will provide me and my family with some of our daily necessities – food, clean water and medicine.

 ~ Will provide e-sims cards for communication and for me to share my art and my voice with the world.

 ~ Will be used for the workshops I am offering neighboring children – teaching basic reading and writing along with drawing to help them release the stress and trauma they are experiencing.

I want to share my story with you despite the bombings, starvation, and death. I draw to escape the torment of death. Even with the scarce electricity and internet, I spend long hours charging my phone and iPad so I can draw and escape from this bitter reality. I draw to defy death. Despite the siege, my drawings travel freely to the outside world.

I stand firm through my art and my hope for life. If I survive, my art will be my lifeline. If I don’t, it will bear witness to the suffering and will always remain in cyberspace, reminding the world that there was hope trying to shine through the darkness of oppression and genocide. From the heart of Gaza and from within our worn-out tent, I light a candle of hope.

My drawings are symbols of resilience and messages of hope for humanity that will never die. Your generous contributions will empower me to share my voice and art with the world, and to inspire the displaced children who attend my workshops.

Thank you for your kindness, generosity, and compassion.

 Amna Alaydi