By Waed Abbas | Palestine Projects Assistant
One of my ultimate favorite projects to work with MECA on is Promoting Child Literacy in Palestine, since I was a little girl I was fascinated by books, the stories they tell, the friends they help me make, and the wonderful worlds I'm able to visit with each turn of a page. And as a Palestinian, Edward Said is my all-time favorite intellctual crush. Imagine having both of them in the same place in one of the closest places to my heart; Gaza.
Two branches of the Edward Said Public Library (ESPL) are now open in Gaza – one in Beit Lahia and one in Gaza City. The Middle East Children’s Alliance is the Library’s U.S. partner and we are so happy to join this initiative started by Mosab Abu Toha. At the opening ceremony, Mariam Said, from her home in New York, shared with the crowd the most beautiful words,
"Today we commemorate the 25th anniversary of Edward’s untimely death. We still mourn the terrible loss as we commemorate his extraordinary life and work. We are also celebrating the birth of the first Edward Said Library in the town of Beit Lahia, in Gaza, Palestine.
Edward had several deep passions to which we dedicated his life. His family, of course. The liberation of Palestine. And his love of books and music. English literature was the center of his professional life as a Comparative Literature Professor at Columbia University and he believed in the power of books. He was determined to share his love for and knowledge of literature with as many people as possible, especially the young Palestinians."
The two libraries currently house more than 2,000 books in Arabic and English, regularly hold workshops for writers and teachers, conduct English language classes, and host visits for schoolchildren.
As much as it saddens us, but it is a fact that the children in Gaza suffer tremendously due to the over 10-year blockade on Gaza, the recurrent military assaults on the strip, and the deteriorating situation in general. And even though books and such space are not the sole saviors for the children there, but they are a very well-needed initative. And who knows, maybe the world of books will be their safe haven from the current brutal reality they live in, as much as they were for me from the miliary Israeli occupation in the West Bank.
I know in the begining I said Gaza is one of the closest places to my heart, but turth be told, I've never even stepped foot in it. Yet being able to support such work with our colleagues in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank, in the U.S. in addition to the support we get from our many supporters abroad; makes me feel that I am there united with my people who I'm physically seperated from.
Borders and barriers mean nothing when you have people united in humanity, devotion, and passion to do what needs to be done. The fundraising for the project came from so may different places, countries, and people. The books were brought from one of our favorite bookstores in Bethlehem called Tanween, and they were sent to our staff in Gaza where they moved things forward and brought the books to the children in their new Edward Said library.
It's the little victories like these that give us the strength to move forward and create more hope for the upcoming generations.
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