We Are Not Numbers: Difference between revisions

We Are Not Numbers
Abbreviation	WANN
Established	February 2015
Purpose	Telling the stories of victims in conflict areas
Official language	English
Parent organization	Euro-Med Monitor
Funding	Donation
Website	Official Website

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We Are Not Numbers (WANN) is a project established in 2015 by Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor to provide English-language writing workshops for young Palestinians in Gaza. It provides each participant with six months of training and mentoring with experienced English writers, professional authors, reporters and communicators. The features, stories, news reports and social media content produced as part of the program have been featured by various media outlet, among them HuffPost, Mondoweiss, The New Arab, Palestine Chronicle and +972 Magazine.

History

WANN was launched in February 2015 to provide mentorship for young writers from Gaza on English-language content creation.^[2]^[3] The project originated in the personal mentorship by Euro-Med Monitor's Pam Bailey of a depressed Gazan youth, identified as Ahmed Alnaouq, who had lost a brother and close friends in an Israeli airstrike. Bailey encourage Alnaouq to write about his experiences, which he did. The receptivity of international outlets for the resulting article became a "turning point" for Alnaouq that led him to found WANN together with Bailey.^[4] Writer and professor Refaat Alareer was one of the organization's founders.^[5]

Activities

The program provides each participant with six months' training with native English-speaking mentors,^[6] and began in 2015 with around 40 young people from Gaza writing on an English-language blog while receiving mentoring from experienced authors and journalists. The aim was to open a window to "the people behind the numbers in the news".^[7]^[2] Within a few months of launching, it had raised over $8,200 using the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. Mentors including Ali Abunimah, Susan Abulhawa, Ramzy Baroud, and Laila El-Haddad.^[8]

A year later, Mondoweiss reported, the project had grown to involve more than 75 writers from Gaza, and mentors included Miko Peled, Alice Rothchild, and Ben Norton.^[9]

"Days of Palestine" reported that Bailey was denied entry to Israel in August 2016, despite having a permit to enter Gaza, due to her "illegal" work. She said that an Israeli lawyer suggested she had been added to a blacklist of Palestinian and international NGOs involved with human rights advocacy.^[10]

In 2019, a collection of works from the project was published in German as the book We Are Not Numbers: Young Voices from Gaza (German: We Are Not Numbers: Junge Stimmen aus Gaza).^[7] The following year, WANN launched a Hebrew-language website called We Beyond the Fence to provide Israelis with access Palestinian articles, poems and personal essays about life in Gaza.^[11]

In 2021, WANN was involved with 30 NGOs and other organizations,^[6] and had at that point mentored 300 young Palestinian writers.^[12] WANN had also expanded into providing virtual online tours of Gazan cities, sponsoring talks by Palestinian intellectuals and activists, and providing mental health support to its writers.^[12] In 2023, the program accepted its 17th cohort of prospective writers.^[13]

Content and aims

WANN is a platform to encourage creativity and writing among the youth in Gaza by having them share their stories and experiences.^[14]

WANN distinguishes itself by encouraging its writers to focus on the everyday lives and challenges of people rather than the narratives of war and conflict that dominate mainstream news cycles.^[14]^[15] While some WANN stories are political, the primary aim of the stories is to shed a personal light on the conflict, blockade, poverty and despair that define the lives of the writers.^[14]^[15] They also explore themes of hope, resilience, and the power of storytelling as a means of resistance.^[14]

Despite living under difficult circumstances, the writers find solace in their Palestinian identity and use writing as a way to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about Gaza. The project has gained attention from international readers and media, amplifying the voices and experiences of young Gazans beyond their borders.^[14]

In contrast to the political calls to armed resistance in Gaza, WANN's writers draw inspiration from non-violent advocates such as Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.^[15]

References

^ Hesse.
^ ^a ^b "The Many Faces of Nonviolence - We Are Not Numbers". Nonviolence International. October 2020. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
^ "Deported: Israel's war against Palestine solidarity activists". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
^ Katz 2022, p. 135.
^ Sheehan, Dan (2023-12-07). "Poet and scholar Refaat Alareer has been killed by an Israeli airstrike". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
^ ^a ^b "Euro-Med Monitor's We Are Not Numbers project celebrates graduation of new batch of writers". WAFA Agency. 5 April 2022. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
^ ^a ^b We Are Not Numbers: Junge Stimmen aus Gaza [We Are Not Numbers: Young Voices from Gaza] (in German). Translated by Oehler, Lorenz. Lena Verlag. 2019. p. 2. ISBN 9783857874925.
^ Charlie, 2020 & 112-3.
^ "'We Are Not Numbers' shares the daily struggles and triumphs of Palestinian life". Mondoweiss. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
^ "Israel bans right activist from entering Gaza". Days of Palestine. Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
^ "Palestinians in Gaza are bringing their stories of siege to Israelis". +972 magazine. Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
^ ^a ^b Farmer, E.; Petchesky, R. P.; Sills, S., eds. (2021). A Land With a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism. NYU Press. p. 40. ISBN 9781583679319.
^ "Euro-Med Monitor's project We Are Not Numbers launches 17th cohort of writers". Euro-Med Monitor. Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Saab, Sheren (30 October 2022). "Young Gazans' First Step Toward Liberation: Writing". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2022-11-11. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
^ ^a ^b ^c Katz 2022, p. 136.

Sources

Katz, Y. (2022). (Re)imagining Peace: Exploring Mediatized Everyday Peace in Israel/Palestine. University of Michigan (Thesis). doi:10.7302/6102.
Charlie, J. S. (2015). "Palestine Unbound". Journal of Palestine Studies. 44 (3): 104–113. doi:10.1525/jps.2015.44.3.104.
Hesse, I. (2017). "Sensory siege: Dromocolonisation, slow violence, and poetic realism in the twenty-first century short story from Gaza". Journal for Cultural Research. 21 (2): 190–203. doi:10.1080/14797585.2016.1272786. S2CID 152264721.

External links

We Are Not Numbers - Youtube channel

[FOOTNOTEHesse-1] Hesse.

[auto-2] "The Many Faces of Nonviolence - We Are Not Numbers". Nonviolence International. October 2020. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-06-09.

[3] "Deported: Israel's war against Palestine solidarity activists". Middle East Eye. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.

[FOOTNOTEKatz2022135-4] Katz 2022, p. 135.

[:1-5] Sheehan, Dan (2023-12-07). "Poet and scholar Refaat Alareer has been killed by an Israeli airstrike". Literary Hub. Retrieved 2023-12-07.

[Wafa-grad-6] "Euro-Med Monitor's We Are Not Numbers project celebrates graduation of new batch of writers". WAFA Agency. 5 April 2022. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.

[Oehler-7] We Are Not Numbers: Junge Stimmen aus Gaza [We Are Not Numbers: Young Voices from Gaza] (in German). Translated by Oehler, Lorenz. Lena Verlag. 2019. p. 2. ISBN 9783857874925.

[FOOTNOTECharlie2020112-3-8] Charlie, 2020 & 112-3.

[9] "'We Are Not Numbers' shares the daily struggles and triumphs of Palestinian life". Mondoweiss. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.

[10] "Israel bans right activist from entering Gaza". Days of Palestine. Archived from the original on 24 August 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.

[11] "Palestinians in Gaza are bringing their stories of siege to Israelis". +972 magazine. Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-05-24.

[Farmer-12] Farmer, E.; Petchesky, R. P.; Sills, S., eds. (2021). A Land With a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism. NYU Press. p. 40. ISBN 9781583679319.

[13] "Euro-Med Monitor's project We Are Not Numbers launches 17th cohort of writers". Euro-Med Monitor. Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-05-24.

[Haaretz-14] Saab, Sheren (30 October 2022). "Young Gazans' First Step Toward Liberation: Writing". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2022-11-11. Retrieved 2023-06-09.

[FOOTNOTEKatz2022136-15] Katz 2022, p. 136.

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+{{Short description|English writing program for Palestinian youths}}
 {{Infobox organization
 | name                = We Are Not Numbers
 | image               = File:We_Are_Not_Numbers.png
 | abbreviation        = WANN
-| founder             = [[Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor|Euro-Med Monitor]] and Pam Baily
 | purpose             = Telling the stories of victims in conflict areas
 | established         = February 2015
 | language            = English
-| parent_organization = [[Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor|Euro-Med Monitor]]
+| parent_organization = [[Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor|Euro-Med Monitor]]{{sfn|Hesse}}
 | funding             = Donation
 | website             = [http://www.wearenotnumbers.org Official Website]
 }}
+'''We Are Not Numbers''' ('''WANN''') is a project established in 2015 by [[Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor]] to provide English-language writing workshops for young Palestinians in [[Gaza strip|Gaza]]. It provides each participant with six months of training and mentoring with experienced English writers, professional authors, reporters and communicators. The features, stories, news reports and social media content produced as part of the program have been featured by various media outlet, among them ''[[HuffPost]]'', ''[[Mondoweiss]]'', [[the New Arab|''The New Arab'']], ''Palestine Chronicle'' and [[+972 Magazine|''+972 Magazine'']].
-'''We Are Not Numbers (WANN)''' is a project for Palestinian and young adults worldwide designed to help them share their narratives (and those of their people) in their own words with the Western (English-speaking) Founded in 2015 by American journalist Pam Bailey under the umbrella of the [[Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor]], a Geneva-based organization chaired by [[Ramy Abdu|Dr. Ramy Abdu]].
+==History==
-The project aims at training young youth to write about life in conflict-ridden areas. It operates by pairing developing English writers (ranging in age from 15 to about 30) with professional authors/reporters/communicators who mentor them on both their language and storytelling skills. Their essays, poems, features and news reports (as well as videos) have been widely quoted by Amos Trust, [[HuffPost|Huffington Post]], [[Mondoweiss]], [[the New Arab]], The Palestine Chronicle, and [[+972 Magazine|+972 magazine.]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-11-18 |title=Where Is Justice For the Children Who Drowned in the Mediterranean? |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/emigrating-to-freedom-is-risky-business_b_8563332 |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-03 |title=To try to save his neighbors, he had to demolish his own house |url=https://mondoweiss.net/2022/09/to-try-to-save-his-neighbors-he-had-to-demolish-his-own-house/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=Mondoweiss |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-16 |title=Targeting Gaza: Israeli elections promise more of the same |url=https://wearenotnumbers.org/home/story/targeting-gaza-israeli-elections-promise-more-of-the-same/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=We Are Not Numbers |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=First Of The Month — April 2021 |url=https://www.amostrust.org/resources/first-of-the-month/first-of-the-month-april-2021/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=www.amostrust.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |date=2022-08-29 |title=The Jabaliya Massacre: Heaven Embraces Five Angels |url=https://www.palestinechronicle.com/the-jabaliya-massacre-heaven-embraces-five-angels/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=Palestine Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=+972 Magazine |date=2022-09-28 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%2B972_Magazine&oldid=1112835405 |work=Wikipedia |language=en |access-date=2022-10-09}}</ref>
+WANN was launched in February 2015 to provide mentorship for young writers from Gaza on English-language content creation.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/many_faces_wann|title=The Many Faces of Nonviolence - We Are Not Numbers|website=Nonviolence International|date=October 2020|access-date=2023-06-09|archive-date=2023-04-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402123805/https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/many_faces_wann|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/israel-vs-palestine-solidarity-activists-war-wills-deportation-arrest-824725805 |title=Deported: Israel's war against Palestine solidarity activists |publisher=Middle East Eye |accessdate=3 January 2016 |archive-date=7 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007182601/http://www.middleeasteye.net/in-depth/features/israel-vs-palestine-solidarity-activists-war-wills-deportation-arrest-824725805 |url-status=live }}</ref> The project originated in the personal mentorship by [[Euro-Med Monitor]]'s Pam Bailey of a depressed Gazan youth, identified as Ahmed Alnaouq, who had lost a brother and close friends in an Israeli airstrike. Bailey encourage Alnaouq to write about his experiences, which he did. The receptivity of international outlets for the resulting article became a "turning point" for Alnaouq that led him to found WANN together with Bailey.{{sfn|Katz|2022|p=135}} Writer and professor [[Refaat Alareer]] was one of the organization's founders.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Sheehan |first=Dan |date=2023-12-07 |title=Poet and scholar Refaat Alareer has been killed by an Israeli airstrike. |url=https://lithub.com/poet-and-scholar-refaat-alareer-has-been-killed-by-an-israeli-airstrike/ |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=[[Literary Hub]] |language=en-US}}</ref>
-== Aim ==
-The primary purpose of the project is to create a new generation of writers and thinkers who can bring together a profound positive change to the victims' causes. Providing youth with intensive training in leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, and advocacy, the project aims to build their capacities in advocacy for human rights and related fields. It amplifies youth voices in educating the Western world on the realities of life under occupation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://wearenotnumbers.org/about/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=We Are Not Numbers |language=en-US}}</ref>
-== History ==
+==Activities==
-During the [[2014 Gaza War|Israeli military attack against Palestinians in the summer of 2014]], Ahmed Alnaouq’s 23-year-old brother, Ayman, was killed by an Israeli missile while simply walking on the street near his home [[Deir al-Balah|Dir-Al-Balah]]. Ahmed sunk into depression from which he thought he would never return to normal life again.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-12-29 |title=Ayman: To Israel a target, to me my best friend and brother |url=https://wearenotnumbers.org/home/story/ayman_to_israel_a_target_to_me_my_best_friend_and_brother/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=We Are Not Numbers |language=en-US}}</ref> During this time, he met Pam Bailey, the former international secretary of Euro-Med Monitor, who encouraged him to write his story. The story resonated with and attracted a great deal of attention from people in the West. As a result, established and aspiring “word artists” from around the world joined with youth in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], [[Lebanon]] and conflict-ridden areas in the [[MENA]] region to create We Are Not Numbers.
+The program provides each participant with six months' training with native English-speaking mentors,<ref name=Wafa-grad>{{Cite web |url=https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/128695 |date=5 April 2022 |title=Euro-Med Monitor's We Are Not Numbers project celebrates graduation of new batch of writers |website=WAFA Agency |access-date=9 June 2023 |archive-date=29 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529185222/https://english.wafa.ps/Pages/Details/128695 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-Every six months, the project recruits more than 30 new young writers. Since 2015, more than 350 writers graduated from WANN and more than 1000 essays, stories, articles, and poems had been published.
+and began in 2015 with around 40 young people from Gaza writing on an English-language blog while receiving mentoring from experienced authors and journalists. The aim was to open a window to "the people behind the numbers in the news".<ref name=Oehler>{{cite book |title=We Are Not Numbers: Junge Stimmen aus Gaza |trans-title=We Are Not Numbers: Young Voices from Gaza |translator-first=Lorenz |translator-last=Oehler |publisher=Lena Verlag |date=2019 |isbn=9783857874925 |pages=2 |lang=de}}</ref><ref name="auto"/> Within a few months of launching, it had raised over $8,200 using the [[crowdfunding]] platform [[Indiegogo]]. Mentors including [[Ali Abunimah]], [[Susan Abulhawa]], Ramzy Baroud, and Laila El-Haddad.{{sfn|Charlie|2020|112-3}}
+A year later, ''[[Mondoweiss]]'' reported, the project had grown to involve more than 75 writers from Gaza, and mentors included [[Miko Peled]], Alice Rothchild, and [[Ben Norton]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mondoweiss.net/2016/07/struggles-triumphs-palestinian/ |title='We Are Not Numbers' shares the daily struggles and triumphs of Palestinian life |publisher=Mondoweiss |access-date=3 January 2016 |archive-date=2 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702144552/http://mondoweiss.net/2016/07/struggles-triumphs-palestinian/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
-== Partners ==
-WANN reached out and become friends with over 30 NGOs and international human rights groups, such as The French Coalition of 30 NGOs, Amos Trust, [[Nonviolence International]], [[Global Voices]], [[AJ+]], Kinder USA, Adalah Justice Project, CCFD, Palestine Chronicle, The USA Palestine Mental Health, Canada Talks Israel/Palestine, [[Jewish Voice for Peace]], and Podcast Latitude Adjustment.
+"Days of Palestine" reported that Bailey was denied entry to Israel in August 2016, despite having a permit to enter Gaza, due to her "illegal" work. She said that an Israeli lawyer suggested she had been added to a blacklist of Palestinian and international NGOs involved with human rights advocacy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.daysofpalestine.com/news/israel-bans-right-activist-entering-gaza/ |title=Israel bans right activist from entering Gaza |publisher=Days of Palestine |access-date=3 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824141709/http://www.daysofpalestine.com/news/israel-bans-right-activist-entering-gaza/ |archive-date=24 August 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
-== Programs ==
+In 2019, a collection of works from the project was published in German as the book ''We Are Not Numbers: Young Voices from Gaza'' ({{langx|de|We Are Not Numbers: Junge Stimmen aus Gaza}}).<ref name=Oehler/> The following year, WANN launched a Hebrew-language website called We Beyond the Fence to provide Israelis with access Palestinian articles, poems and personal essays about life in Gaza.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.972mag.com/gaza-fence-stories-hebrew/ |title=Palestinians in Gaza are bringing their stories of siege to Israelis |work=+972 magazine |access-date=2023-05-24 |archive-date=2023-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524090827/https://www.972mag.com/gaza-fence-stories-hebrew/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
-=== Gaza Thinks Initiative ===
-WANN launched the [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]] Thinks Initiative under the Rethink, Reconnect the Med Initiative within the [[European Union|EU]]-funded regional Program Med Dialogue for Rights and Equality framework. It aims to learn youth how to employ critical thinking tools to own the narrative and combat misinformation, stereotypes, fake news, and hate speech.<ref>{{Cite web |title=POLICY PAPER - COMBATING MISINFORMATION AND STEREOTYPES ON THE BASIS OF GEOGRAPHIC ORIGINS IN PALESTINE.docx.pdf |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vKKplQ9Msdo8fQu_peNb7s8WybvH9jqy/view?usp=embed_facebook |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=Google Docs}}</ref>
+In 2021, WANN was involved with 30 NGOs and other organizations,<ref name=Wafa-grad/> and had at that point mentored 300 young Palestinian writers.<ref name=Farmer>{{cite book |editor-last1=Farmer |editor-first1=E. |editor-last2=Petchesky |editor-first2=R. P. |editor-last3=Sills |editor-first3=S. |date=2021 |title=A Land With a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism |pages=40 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=9781583679319}}</ref> WANN had also expanded into providing virtual online tours of Gazan cities, sponsoring talks by Palestinian intellectuals and activists, and providing mental health support to its writers.<ref name=Farmer/> In 2023, the program accepted its 17th cohort of prospective writers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/5562/Euro-Med-Monitor%E2%80%99s-project-We-Are-Not-Numbers-launches-17th-cohort-of-writers |title=Euro-Med Monitor's project We Are Not Numbers launches 17th cohort of writers |work=Euro-Med Monitor |access-date=2023-05-24 |archive-date=2023-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230524090355/https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/5562/Euro-Med-Monitor%E2%80%99s-project-We-Are-Not-Numbers-launches-17th-cohort-of-writers |url-status=live }}</ref>
-=== Gaza-Vision ===
-We are Not Numbers expanded its focus with Gaza vision, an answer to [[Eurovision Song Contest|Eurovision]], the singing contest held in Tel Aviv. More than 25 singers from across Gaza entered Gazavision. Media in countries ranging from Australia to the Netherlands covered the event. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-17 |title=Gazavision: one winner; unified people |url=https://wearenotnumbers.org/home/news/gazavision_one_winner_unified_people/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=We Are Not Numbers |language=en-US}}</ref>
-=== WANN Reports ===
+==Content and aims==
-This program aims at helping WANN writers get paid articles, features, or opinions. WANN practices its social responsibility towards WANN writers by connecting them with international news agencies and expanding their professional network.
+WANN is a platform to encourage creativity and writing among the youth in Gaza by having them share their stories and experiences.<ref name=Haaretz>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-10-30/ty-article-magazine/.premium/young-gazans-first-step-toward-liberation-writing/00000184-195b-d06d-adcd-597fd9fa0000 |title=Young Gazans' First Step Toward Liberation: Writing |first=Sheren |last=Saab |date=30 October 2022 |work=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=2023-06-09 |archive-date=2022-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111211847/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2022-10-30/ty-article-magazine/.premium/young-gazans-first-step-toward-liberation-writing/00000184-195b-d06d-adcd-597fd9fa0000 |url-status=live }}</ref>
-== Films ==
+WANN distinguishes itself by encouraging its writers to focus on the everyday lives and challenges of people rather than the narratives of war and conflict that dominate mainstream news cycles.<ref name=Haaretz/>{{sfn|Katz|2022|p=136}} While some WANN stories are political, the primary aim of the stories is to shed a personal light on the conflict, blockade, poverty and despair that define the lives of the writers.<ref name=Haaretz/>{{sfn|Katz|2022|p=136}} They also explore themes of hope, resilience, and the power of storytelling as a means of resistance.<ref name=Haaretz/>
-* Art from Palestine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amos Trust films |url=https://www.amostrust.org/films/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=www.amostrust.org}}</ref>
-* Gaza Archhelogical sites-Downtown.<ref>{{Citation |title=Virtual Tour in the Historical Sites in Gaza City (2021) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gGFCerLj_E |language=en |access-date=2022-10-09}}</ref>
-* [[Church of Saint Porphyrius]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Gaza City |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0MC2AkzYa8 |language=en |access-date=2022-10-09}}</ref>
-* [[Saint Hilarion Monastery]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Saint Hilarion Monastery |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQpMuKrMXts |language=en |access-date=2022-10-09}}</ref>
-* Al-Bared Refugee Camp: Waste Dump.<ref>{{Citation |title=Nahr Elbared: Impact of Israel's siege on the Gaza Strip |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh1H9OHl4Yo |language=en |access-date=2022-10-09}}</ref>
+Despite living under difficult circumstances, the writers find solace in their Palestinian identity and use writing as a way to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about Gaza. The project has gained attention from international readers and media, amplifying the voices and experiences of young Gazans beyond their borders.<ref name=Haaretz/>
-== Books ==
+In contrast to the political calls to armed resistance in Gaza, WANN's writers draw inspiration from non-violent advocates such as [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], [[Nelson Mandela]] and [[Mahatma Gandhi]].{{sfn|Katz|2022|p=136}}
-* We Are Not Numbers (2019)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Basman Derawi |first=Malak Mattar |title=We Are Not Numbers |publisher=Der deutschen Ubersetzung und der Zusammenstellung |year=2019 |isbn=978-3 85 78 74 925}}</ref>
-== WANN stories published in books ==
-* Always on the inside looking out<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-04-05 |title=Always on the inside looking out |url=https://wearenotnumbers.org/home/story/always_on_the_inside_looking_out/ |access-date=2022-10-10 |website=We Are Not Numbers |language=en-US}}</ref> - The Spy's Gamble.<ref>{{Cite book |date=June 5, 2018 |title=The Spy's Gamble Paperback |isbn=978-1720606215 |last1=Kaplan |first1=Howard }}</ref>
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
+==Sources==
+*{{cite thesis |last=Katz |first=Y. |date=2022 |title=(Re)imagining Peace: Exploring Mediatized Everyday Peace in Israel/Palestine |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.7302/6102 |doi=10.7302/6102 |work=[[University of Michigan]]}}
+*{{cite journal |last=Charlie |first=J. S. |date=2015 |title=Palestine Unbound |journal=Journal of Palestine Studies |volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=104–113 |url=https://doi.org/10.1525/jps.2015.44.3.104 |doi=10.1525/jps.2015.44.3.104}}
+*{{cite journal |last=Hesse |first=I. |date=2017 |title=Sensory siege: Dromocolonisation, slow violence, and poetic realism in the twenty-first century short story from Gaza |journal=Journal for Cultural Research |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=190–203 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14797585.2016.1272786 |doi=10.1080/14797585.2016.1272786|s2cid=152264721 }}
+==Further reading==
+*{{cite journal |last=Harrold |first=D. |date=2020 |title=From sumud to intifada: Supporting non‐violent action to enhance mental health |journal=International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=165–182 |url= https://doi.org/10.1002/aps.1648 |doi=10.1002/aps.1648|s2cid=218954467 }}
+*Namey, Isra (20 Apr 2017). [https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/4/20/writers-aim-to-challenge-stereotypes-about-gaza Writers aim to challenge stereotypes about Gaza.] [[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]].
+==External links==
+*[https://www.youtube.com/@wearenotnumbers2698 We Are Not Numbers - Youtube channel]
 [[Category:Organizations established in 2015]]