Mehdi Unfiltered By the Time This New Book Was Published, Israel Had Killed Four of Its Authors
Oct 6, 2025
Ahmad Al-Naouk, a Palestinian journalist and co-founder of the We Are Not Numbers project, shares his poignant experiences amid ongoing conflict. He discusses his personal losses and the significance of preserving individual stories of those killed. Pam Bailey, a freelance writer and social justice activist, highlights the project's mission to mentor young Palestinian writers, showcasing diverse narratives that humanize life in Gaza. They explore storytelling as a form of resistance against oppression and the importance of seeing Palestinians as complex individuals rather than mere statistics.
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Personal Loss From October 2023 Strike
- Ahmad Al-Naouk recounts losing 21 family members when Israel bombed his home in October 2023.
- He stopped counting losses because the scale of suffering is too vast to quantify.
Immortalizing A Fallen Brother
- Ahmad describes his younger brother Mahmoud as a kind writer who was killed with many family members.
- He promises to keep telling Mahmoud's story to immortalize him and other slain writers.
Bittersweet Growth Of The Project
- Pam Bailey reflects that the project's growth is bittersweet because Gaza's situation is worse now than in 2014.
- She hoped stories would humanize Gazans and possibly change public opinion, which has shifted in some places.
