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Featured Books

Flames of the Cherry Tree
Leena A Khan
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Flames of the Cherry Tree
Leena A Khan

The year is 1940, and the winds of change stir in the valley of Kashmir. Aafreen Khan is a young girl that dreams to be a doctor like her beloved grandfather, defying the boundaries of convention as a Muslim and a woman in a country rigged against her. But as the partition of India looms closer, Kashmir reels under the weight of greed and power, and Aafreen is swept into the whirlwind of a story much larger than her own. When love, loss, and revolution reshape her entire world, Aafreen learns the terrible truth of what it means to survive.

Flames of the Cherry Tree is a sweeping, intimate portrait of a young woman’s coming-of-age against the backdrop of colonialism, rebellion, and the violent birth of today’s occupied Kashmir. At once tender and unflinching, it traces the story of one family through oppression and resistance, illuminating the forgotten histories that have shaped Kashmir and the hope that survives in its people.

A lyrical, unflinching novel that rebuilds Kashmir from beneath the rubble of empire — a testament to the people who refused to disappear.
– Tariq Mehmood, author, The Second Coming

Light and tender yet deeply haunting, this luminous tale of friendship and love unfolds in Kashmir against the gathering darkness of partition and local political churnings, bearing witness to both the radiant beauty of young love and the unspeakable horrors unleashed when hatred fractures a subcontinent along religious lines.
– Anuradha Bhasin, Managing Editor of the Kashmir Times

A hauntingly beautiful tale of loss and resilience where the author masterfully weaves history with humanity. Tender, brave, and unforgettable.
—Rumana Makhdoomi, author of Warriors and Falcons: Life Sketches of 100 Outstanding Kashmiri Doctors

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We Are Still Not Counted As Human
S'bu Zikode

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We Are Still Not Counted As Human
S'bu Zikode

S’bu Zikode’s reflections chronicle the profound struggle of Abahlali baseMjondolo (residents of the shacks), the largest popular movement to emerge in South Africa since apartheid. Founded in Durban in 2005, the movement now boasts over 180,000 members organised into more than 100 branches across four provinces (as of September 2025).

The movement arose from a deep disappointment following the initial promise of democracy, realizing that “freedom and the African National Congress (ANC) were two different things”. The poor were immediately excluded from public life and discussions about their own lives, often treated as “criminals” or “rubbish”. This systematic dehumanisation—where their very presence was deemed criminal—showed that democracy, in practice, referred primarily to the middle class and the rich.

At the heart of Abahlali baseMjondolo’s organizing is the non-negotiable demand for the recognition of their humanity and dignity. They built their foundation on the principles and values of ubuntu, viewing dignity as requiring respectful engagement and full participation in decision-making—not merely accepting ‘service delivery’. They insist on thinking and speaking for themselves, adopting the slogan ‘nothing for us, without us’.

AbM developed a unique ‘politics of the poor’ to create a space for the impoverished to think together, build power, and advance their interests outside of political parties or trade unions. The goal is establishing a democratic socialism built from below—a “living communism”—grounded in community praxis.

This struggle has been met with intense repression, including police violence, torture, criminalisation, and assassinations, with more than twenty lives lost. The state’s actions, intended to teach the poor to “know their place,” instead taught them that democracy was not for them, reinforcing the need to organize and be strong together. The movement continues to fight for the destruction of the capitalist system and the reconstruction of a new system centred on the humanity and dignity of all people.

STOP PRESS: Citation of Honour to S’bu Zikode.

29 October 2025

Human Rights Commission Presents a Citation of Honour to S’bu Zikode

Today the South African Human Rights Commission presented a Citation of Honour to S’bu Zikode.

Professor Tshepo Madlingozi, who presented the citation, specifically noted our movement’s work for land reparation, spatial justice and food sovereignty, and our commitment to oppose xenophobia and gender-based violence. He praised our movement as “true advocates of human rights, the restoration of dignity, and full liberation” and said that Zikode’s “legacy will forever guide and inspire future generations”.

In his acceptance speech Zikode accepted the Citation of Honour on behalf of the movement saying that “An award for me is also an award for the movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo, and for the determination and courage of all the people of South Africa — and all those who have kept our movement going for twenty years despite the challenges we continue to face.” He dedicated the award to the 25 comrades who have lost their lives in the course of our struggle.

Later, speaking to the leadership of the movement he said that “I am forever grateful to the red sea that has carried me over and over. I deeply appreciate you all.”

Our movement welcomes this award of a Citation of Honour to our president. It is an important recognition of the justice and power of our struggle, and the determination and courage of our members. In a time in which human rights are coming under sustained attack from right-wing forces, in and out of the ANC, we reaffirm our solidarity with the Commission, with the Socio-Economic Rights Institute and with all other human rights organisations under attack from the right.

The rights and dignity of every person must be respected – without exception – and we need to build a united front in support of this principle.

Contact:

Thapelo Mohapi 084 576 5117
Snenhlanhla Mcanyana 073 832 331
S’bu Zikode 083 547 0474

https://abahlali.org/node/18539/

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Ancestral Daughter
Zeina Jhaish
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Ancestral Daughter
Zeina Jhaish

Ancestral Daughter is a poignant collection of free-verse poetry by Palestinian writer Zeina Jhaish, exploring themes of diaspora, identity, resistance, and love. Through vivid imagery and raw emotion, Jhaish navigates her dual existence as a Palestinian woman from Gaza living in the diaspora, weaving personal and collective histories into her verses. The book is divided into two parts: “Ancestral,” which delves into exile, land, and the trauma of occupation, and “Daughter,” which reflects on womanhood, heartbreak, and rebirth. Poems like “Haifa on 85th Avenue” and “Godforsaken Homes” juxtapose longing for homeland with the alienation of displacement, while “Being a Palestinian Woman: A Guide” celebrates resilience. Jhaish honors her heritage, mourns ongoing violence, and clings to hope, dedicating the work to Gaza and Palestinian martyrs. Blending English and Arabic, her poetry is a testament to ancestral love and the unyielding spirit of her people.

20% of the income from e-book orders will be donated to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

If you are a bookstore, please get in touch with [email protected] for special offers.

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Una movilización por la justicia en salud
Movimiento por la Salud de los Pueblos (MSP) y organizaciones coproductoras del Observatorio Global de la Salud 7 (Global Health Watch 7 – GHW7)

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Una movilización por la justicia en salud
Movimiento por la Salud de los Pueblos (MSP) y organizaciones coproductoras del Observatorio Global de la Salud 7 (Global Health Watch 7 – GHW7)

Desde su primera edición en 2005, el Observatorio Global de la Salud (GHW) -la publicación insignia del Movimiento por la Salud de los Pueblos (MSP)- ha venido informando críticamente sobre el estado de la salud en el mundo. Publicada cada tres o cuatro años, comenta la evolución de la salud mundial al tiempo que se centra en la continuidad con las luchas populares del pasado.

Al igual que en ediciones anteriores, el GHW7 cobra vida con las contribuciones de más de cien activistas de todo el mundo, que comparten experiencias y análisis sobre cuestiones que afectan a la salud de las personas en los contextos en los que viven y los esfuerzos por avanzar hacia una mayor justicia en salud. Este proceso fue dinamizado por la quinta Asamblea Mundial por la Salud de los Pueblos (ASP5), el encuentro mundial del MSP, que tuvo lugar en Argentina en abril de 2024 bajo el lema “Haciendo de la ‘Salud para Todos’ nuestra lucha por el ‘Buen Vivir’”.

Las contribuciones políticas de América Latina se manifiestan en la primera sección del GHW7, dedicada a “La arquitectura política y económica global”, donde a un análisis actualizado de las crisis de la salud actuales le siguen contribuciones que las enmarcan en una perspectiva ecofeminista, mostrando cómo las alternativas pueden arraigarse en las sabidurías ancestrales y en la práctica del ‘Buen Vivir’. La segunda sección aborda viejos y nuevos retos para los sistemas de salud públicos y globales a través de las lentes críticas de la justicia de género y la decolonialidad. La tercera sección, “Más allá de la atención en salud”, aborda los principales determinantes sociales y ambientales de la salud, mientras que la sección “Vigilancia” analiza críticamente el estado de la gobernanza mundial de la salud centrándose en varias instituciones clave. La última sección, “Resistencia, luchas y alternativas”, destaca las áreas de cambio transformador de los y las activistas de la salud en un contexto mundial de creciente represión. El libro termina con un capítulo sobre la ASP5, en el que se destaca cómo la acción colectiva es la medicina más poderosa contra la mala salud y la desigualdad de la salud a nivel humano y planetario.

Global Health Watch 7 incluye los siguientes capítulos:

Los resúmenes de los capítulos actualmente disponibles, junto con el PDF descargable correspondiente, pueden consultarse desplazándose hacia abajo y haciendo clic en la pestaña “Descripción”.

Todos los capítulos, excepto A2 y A3, han sido traducidos del inglés por Lila Esther Silgado Villadiego

Introducción: Una Movilización por la Justicia en Salud
A1. De la Economía Política de la Enfermedad a la Economía Política del Bienestar
A2. La Vida en el Centro: Ecofeminsmos y Feminismos Ecoterritoriales en la Disputa por la Vida
A3. Saberes Ancestrales y Populares para el Buen Vivir
B1. Privatización y Financierización de los Sistemas de Salud: Retos y Alternativas Públicas
B2. Inteligencia Artificial, Tecnologías Digitales y Salud
B3. Construyendo Sistemas de Salud Equitativos: Una Propuesta Transformadora Desde una Perspectiva Interseccional de Género
B4. La Medicina de la Abolición como Herramienta para la Justicia en Salud
B5. Descolonización de la Salud Mundial
C1. Guerra, Conflicto y Desplazamiento
C2. Personas en Movimiento
C3. Poniendo el Derecho a la Salud ¡A Trabajar!
C4. Justicia fiscal: El camino Hacia una Mejor Salud
C5. Determinación comercial/empresarial de la salud
D1. El papel de la Organización Mundial de la Salud en el liderazgo de la salud mundial, bajo amenaza
D2. Desembalaje de Nuestros Fracasos Pandémicos para la Prevención y Preparación ante futuras pandemias
D3. Financiación de la Recuperación, Prevención, Preparación y Respuesta ante una Pandemia
E1. Luchas Nacionales por el Derecho a la Salud
E2. Llevando a las Empresas Extractivas a los Tribunales
E3. Miedo y esperanza en “Decir la verdad al poder”: Luchas por la salud en tiempos de represión y reducción de espacios
E4. 5ª Asamblea Mundial por la Salud de los Pueblos: Avanzando en la lucha por la liberación y contra el capitalismo

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Twenty Years of Courage and Struggle
Abahlali baseMjondolo

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Twenty Years of Courage and Struggle
Abahlali baseMjondolo

Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) is the remarkable story of the South African shack dwellers movement, covering twenty years of courageous struggle. It is the largest movement to have emerged in South Africa after apartheid and one of the largest movements of the urban poor globally, boasting over 180,000 members across four provinces.

AbM emerged from the margins of South Africa’s cities, where residents faced life-threatening conditions, including shack fires, poverty, and systemic betrayal by the democratic state regarding land and housing. The movement is firmly committed to ethical principles, fighting not only for the right to the city but for the right to collectively occupy land and build occupations collectively. Abahlali insists on a humanist philosophy—”no one is illegal, everyone thinks and everyone must be counted and heard”—and works to build democracy and socialism from below.

Abahlali is abolition in action, seeking to interrupt capitalist logic by advocating for the total decommodification of land, recognizing it as a public good allocated based on human need. This commitment has led to significant victories, including securing land, providing services (like water and electricity), and winning a landmark Constitutional Court case against the unlawful Slums Act.

However, this quest for dignity has come at a tremendous cost, marked by severe repression, police violence, and the assassination of many activists by state forces and party thugs. Despite these challenges, AbM has persisted, developing occupations into working communes (such as eKhenana) that feature collective production, community halls, and political schools. Their story is a map for movements fighting inequality and authoritarianism globally. The movement continues to build collective power and struggle for a world where land, wealth, and power are shared on an equal basis.

“Your movement has shown the world that democracy extends beyond elections to a way of living together—through open assemblies and collective decision making. In doing so, you have advanced a vision grounded in humanity, solidarity, and courage. Your struggle has always been internationalist, and your solidarity with the people of Palestine, Swaziland, and the Congo, and the warm relations you have built with movements around the world, are exemplary.” Jeremy Corbyn in https://rajpatel.org/2025/10/13/4764/

The movement continues to grow, discovering that more and more settlements function better not when they function as an association of residents but as a commune. Agroecology is cropping up in more and more settlements thanks to exchanges with the MST. It’s a demonstration that when the wretched of the earth organize themselves without mediation, without NGO managers or academic gatekeepers, they can survive what would destroy any formation dependent on elite patronage. … This is the lesson Abahlali offers the world: genuine democracy is possible, but only when everyone thinks, everyone counts, everyone cares, and everyone acts. Raj Patel Everybody Thinks, Everybody Counts, Everybody Cares, Everybody Acts: Twenty Years of Abahlalism

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WItness to War
Charlie Clements
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WItness to War
Charlie Clements

Witness to War: An American Doctor in El Salvador offers a personal account of Dr. Charles Clements’ year-long mission providing medical care behind rebel lines during El Salvador’s brutal civil war from 1981-1982. Clements, a former decorated U.S. Air Force pilot disillusioned by his Vietnam experiences, transformed into a Quaker doctor committed to non-violence and the principle of “bearing witness”—observing a situation firsthand and speaking truth about power.

The book chronicles his harrowing struggle, at times one of only two fully trained physicians, for approximately 10,000 people in a guerrilla-controlled zone, confronting “scenes of almost unbelievable horror” and an “anguished view of the low value on life”. With virtually no supplies, Clements improvised, performing amputations with a Swiss Army knife and suturing with dental floss, all while battling dysentery, malaria, and hunger himself. His narrative is extraordinarily restrained yet both disturbing and gripping.

Witness to War serves as a testimony from behind the lines, vividly portraying a conflict of constant aerial bombardments by U.S.-supplied aircraft. Clements’ commitment to medical neutrality, treating any patient regardless of their affiliation, is a central theme, challenging readers to confront uncomfortable truths about U.S. foreign policy and the immense human cost of conflict. This new edition, published decades later, underscores the enduring relevance of imperialism and militarism, urging new generations to reflect on their potential impact on the Global South.

First published in 1984, and again in 1985, the book has long been out of print. This is an expanded edition including materials previously absent in previous editions.

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Artificial Intelligence, Society and Religion
Karim Hirji
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Artificial Intelligence, Society and Religion
Karim Hirji

The underlying objective of this book is to promote equality, global peace, harmony, transparency, inter-faith solidarity and broad-based awareness so that new technologies like AI can be developed, controlled and harnessed in the endeavor to tackle problems like hunger, poverty, disease, poor education, misinformation, pandemics, loss of biodiversity, environmental damage, authoritarianism, militarism, irresponsible consumerism, mental alienation and corporate domination that are facing the human race today.

This objective is pursued by adopting an interdisciplinary approach to explore the intriguing confluence of artificial intelligence, social structure and faith at many levels. Numerous illustrative examples from religion majority and other nations grace these pages. They elucidate the structure, uses, benefits, and productivity gains of AI as well as the flaws, abuses, biases, hype, hallucinations, and harms associated with AI systems. Secular and religious ethical codes for AI are examined. It is seen that despite theological concerns, religion―Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, or Secularism―is not a barrier to wide practical adoption of AI. AI in education, medical diagnosis, science research and industry, the impact of AI on mental health and the environment, the notion of artificial super intelligence, military uses of AI, especially in the genocidal war on Gaza, AI in the Global South and the views of late Pope Francis on AI garner central attention. This book makes the case that corporate driven AI operating in the profit-oriented neoliberal, imperial setting will harm human cognitive abilities and mental health, undermine education, foster bias and mediocrity, facilitate the spread of misinformation, exacerbate national and international inequality, support authoritarian rule, worsen climate change and make warfare deadlier. AI can benefit humanity only under an egalitarian, genuinely democratic, environmentally aware social order.

Based on a depth of research, Karim Hirji’s Artificial Intelligence, Society and Religion presents, in readable prose, a comprehensive portrait of the inter-relationship between an ancient human pre- occupation and a modern multi-faceted instrument that may presage a post-human future. Covering Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Secularism, it explores how these traditions use AI tools and navigate the ethical challenges of AI. The perspectives of religious dignitaries like the late Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama on AI are compared. Providing a broad introduction to the attainments as well as limitations of AI systems, the book also discusses the potential for the emergence of super-intelligent AI systems. Unlike other books on AI, Hirji’s magnum opus contextualizes AI and religions within the global neoliberal system and discusses how AI systems enable violations of human rights and facilitate the commission of genocide. —Abdul Paliwala, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Warwick

Using a broad range of sources with fascinating insight, Karim Hirji explores the ever-expanding world of Artificial Intelligence to inquire: Will AI benefit or endanger humanity? Using numerous country-level case studies, he explores multiple instances of the utility and harms of AI and argues that corporate-controlled AI will not only exacerbate inequality, but also cause more harm than good. Focusing on Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and secularism, he critically examines faith-based reactions to AI. Among other topics cogently covered are the ethics of AI, education and AI, military applications of AI and the possibility of a superintelligent AI. Addressing questions vital for our and the future generations from a progressive perspective, this book deserves attention from all concerned with where AI is driving our world. —Elizabeth Jones, MA, Teacher, Quaker, Former Co-editor of Christian Today, UK.

Karim Hirji’s Artificial Intelligence, Society and Religion: Crossroads of Algorithm, Neoliberalism and Faith is a path-breaking, inspiring and challenging book on AI that will help strengthen the social movements of resistance throughout the world. It delegitimizes the ideological obfuscations of imperialism—from the crimes of Eugenics to the fantasy of a happy AI future. It takes us on a fascinating and challenging journey, warns us of the grave dangers posed by corporate AI, and prepares us for the next stage of the lifetime battle for anti-imperialist and socialist humanity. —Eric Mann, Author and Co-Director, Labor/Community Strategy Center, South Central Los Angeles.

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Mobilizing for Health Justice
People's Health Movement and the GHW7 co-producing organizations

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Mobilizing for Health Justice
People's Health Movement and the GHW7 co-producing organizations

Since its first edition in 2005, Global Health Watch (GHW) – the flagship publication of the People’s Health Movement (PHM) – has been critically reporting on the state of the world’s health. Published every three or four years, it comments on developments in global health while focusing on continuities with past popular struggles.

As with previous editions, GHW7 comes to life with contributions from over one hundred activists around the world, sharing experiences and analysis on issues affecting people’s health in the contexts they live in and efforts to progress towards greater health justice. This process was energized by the fifth People’s Health Assembly (PHA5), the global gathering of PHM, that took place in Argentina in April 2024 under the motto “Making ‘Health for All’ our struggle for ‘Buen Vivir”.

Political contributions from Latin America are manifest in the first GHW7 section, dedicated to “The global political and economic architecture”, where an up-to-date analysis of current health crises is followed by contributions that frame them in an eco-feminist perspective, showing how alternatives can be rooted in ancestral wisdoms and the practice of ‘Buen Vivir’. The second section addresses old and new challenges for public and global health systems through the critical lenses of gender justice and decoloniality. The third section, “Beyond Healthcare,” addresses key social and environmental determinants of health, while the “Watching” section critically apprises the state of global governance for health with a focus on several key institutions. The final section, “Resistance, struggles and alternatives,” highlights areas of transformative change by health activists in a global context of increasing repression. The book ends with a chapter on PHA5, highlighting how collective action is the most powerful medicine against ill health and health inequality at the human and planetary levels.

Global Health Watch 7 will include the following chapters

Chapters A2 and A3 have been translated from Spanish by Lila Esther Silgado Villadiego.

Summaries of the chapters that are currently available can be viewed by scrolling down and clicking on the “Description” tab. You can also download the chapters highlighted below.

Introduction: Mobilizing for Health Justice
A1. From a Political Economy of Disease to a Political Economy for Wellbeing
A2. Life at the Center: Ecofeminisms and Ecoterritorial Feminisms in the Struggle for Life
A3. Ancestral and Popular Knowledge for Buen Vivir
B1. Privatization and Financialization of Health Systems: Challenges and Public Alternatives
B2. Artificial Intelligence, Digital Technologies, and Health
B3. Building Equitable Health Systems: A Transformative Proposal from an Intersectional Gender Perspective
B4. Abolition Medicine as a Tool for Health Justice
B5. Decolonizing Global Health
C1. War, Conflict and Displacement
C2. People on the Move
C3. Putting the Right to Health to Work
C4. Tax Justice: A Pathway to Better Health
C5. Commercial/Corporate Determination of Health
D1. WHO’s Compromised Role in Global Health Leadership
D2. Unpacking Our Pandemic Failures for Future Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response
D3. Financing Pandemic Recovery, Prevention, Preparedness and Response
E1. National Struggles for the Right to Health
E2. Taking Extractives to Court
E3. Fear and Hope in ‘Speaking Truth to Power’: Struggles for Health in Times of Repression and Shrinking Spaces
E4. 5th People’s Health Assembly: Advancing in the Struggle for Liberation and Against Capitalism

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Memoirs of a Woman Survivor of the First Year of the Gaza Holocaust
Njoud Salem
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Memoirs of a Woman Survivor of the First Year of the Gaza Holocaust
Njoud Salem

These memoirs bear witness to the harrowing reality of survival during the devastating war on Gaza. Through vivid personal narratives, they capture the daily struggle for existence—the scarcity of food and water, the constant threat of bombardment, and the profound psychological trauma. Yet, they delve far deeper than mere physical survival, exploring the profound wounds of displacement: the heartbreak of leaving behind a home, a street, a neighborhood, and the irreplaceable fragments of a life forever shattered.

The pages reveal families huddled in schools-turned-shelters, sharing morsels of bread and whispering prayers for a safe dawn. This collection is both a testament and an act of resistance. It refuses to let the world reduce human beings to mere statistics, insisting instead on honoring every story, every face, and every name. It bears witness not only to the destruction but also to the unbroken spirit of a people determined to live, dream, and rise again.

While rooted in immense suffering, these narratives are also profound meditations on dignity, love, and an unshakable will to persevere. At once personal and collective, they amplify the voices of a generation too often silenced by conflict, posing urgent questions about justice, memory, and the future. They ensure these essential stories are never buried beneath rubble or lost to cold statistics.

In the midst of fire and fear, these words declare: “We are still here. We remember.” This act of testimony—to feel, to survive, and to hold onto love when the world offers none—becomes the most honest act of living. Through these pages, the reader is invited not only into a world of unimaginable hardship but also into the profound depths of human endurance, the richness of Arab culture, and the unwavering faith that guides a people forward.

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We Are Still Here
Jacob Norris, Zahid Pranjol
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We Are Still Here
Jacob Norris, Zahid Pranjol

Since the start of the unfolding genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, carried out through settler-colonial Israeli violence, higher education institutions have been systematically destroyed. Campuses lie in ruins, academics and students have been killed or forcibly displaced, and what was once a thriving, intellectually vibrant student population now lives under daily threat of bombardment, forced starvation, and death. For nearly two years, students have been cut off not only from their universities, but from their dreams, their futures, and even their most basic sense of safety.

Yet, despite this unimaginable trauma, many are still writing.

We Are Still Here is an anthology of these voices—raw, unfiltered, and courageous. It features short and long stories, poems, essays, and testimonies written by students from Gaza’s universities. These are not retrospective reflections or distant analyses; they are real-time words, emerging from the depths of genocide, displacement, and grief. These writings may be their last hopes to reach the world, a final act of resistance through expression.

All royalties from the sales of this book go to the student authors in Gaza.

Surviving at the darkest extremes of suffering, of destruction and displacement, famine and the constant threat of maiming or death, these young writers speak to us with piercing lucidity. Their resilience is their only form of optimism. Paradoxically, reading them lifts the heart.
– Ian McEwan, author of Atonement and Enduring Love

A moving, painful and yet hopeful collection of the younger generation of the people of Gaza. Sumud, resilience, was never so powerful and clear, as it appears in this must read and urgent collection. —Ilan Pappé, professor, University of Exeter’s College of Social Sciences and International Studies, author, A Very Short History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict

In the heart of suffering, words are born — and from beneath the rubble, creativity rises. This book is more than a collection of written pages; it is the echo of resilient souls and the cries of pens that spoke when voices were silenced. — Professor Dr. Omar Kh. Melad, President of Al-Azhar University– Gaza

We Are Still Here is not a book about war — it is a book about being alive after the world has decided you are already gone, written in rooms that may no longer stand. These pages are dispatches from the thin edge of the present: letters from hunger, fragments of interrupted lives, flashes of hope so unyielding it burns. Here, young people shape the record of their time on earth, knowing that their time may be short. You will not leave this book with the comfort of closure. It will stay with you long after the final page has turned. — Leila Sansour, filmmaker and founder of Open Bethlehem

These Gaza poignant reflections in prose and poetry from the midst of genocide are both heart-rending and full of life and promise. Israel may have physically killed many of their young authors, but will never kill their words, which live on in this powerful collection of their writings. — Ghada Karmi.

Death is not an ideation for these young writers, but an everyday reality. This collection is a testimony to the power of words. It reveals how love, creativity and hope can galvanise us against fear and inaction. — Selma Dabbagh, author of the novel Out of It and editor of the anthology We Wrote in Symbols; Love and Lust by Arab Women Writers.

Sara Alkhaldy, one of the contributors to We Are Still Here, a new Gazan anthology of student writing, says: ‘I wish I could bottle the scent of our home and take it with me as I left.’ Rula Elkhair writes of studying during displacement: ‘Even in places with no electricity, no water and no stable internet, I installed an eSIM on my phone and climbed to the rooftop under buzzing drones to download lectures. I took exams in cafés by the sea. I studied while hungry, while afraid, while grieving.’ — Selma Dabbagh in London Review of Books, “Knowledge of the Relevant Facts”

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