"A Story of Resilience: Mohamed Arafat Hassanein
I am Mohamed Arafat Hassanein from Gaza.
My entire life, I have been very successful in my studies, with my grades never falling below 90. I finished high school with a score of 95. Like anyone who achieves a high score, I applied for a scholarship and, thank God, I was accepted. However, due to the war and the closure of the checkpoint between the north and the south by the occupation, I couldn't travel.
I am among those who did not evacuate to the south; I stayed in northern Gaza. The first punishment I faced for my resilience was the loss of my future and my dream of studying abroad. We have become lost in life, unable to see our dreams except in sleep, as reality is very bitter. Yet, despite everything we are going through, our hope in God remains strong.
God willing, this genocide will end, and we will achieve every dream we have, with God's guidance first and our efforts second. During this war, I haven't just lost my dream; I lost my home, which held all my memories. I have also lost family members, with over 100 martyrs among us during the war.
My brother and I were injured, and our condition was very critical, but God saved us. The war has destroyed our entire lives. It came upon us in a very difficult financial situation. Here in Gaza, we lack the most basic necessities of life. We have witnessed all kinds of suffering and bitterness, from the bitterness of loss to the bitterness of pain.
We lived through a suffocating famine that lasted for several months, and we nearly died several times, either being run over by trucks or shot by occupation soldiers in the struggle to obtain a few kilograms of flour.
