Humans, Not Numbers: Gaza’s Agony Through the Eyes of a Palestinian in Denmark
'We have two options now: dying or dying.'
This was a text message that Salahaldin (Salah) Eleyan received from his brother from Northern Gaza, Palestine.
Salah Eleyan in Aarhus, Denmark. (Photo: Gaia Guatri)
Salah is a 27-year-old Quantum Physics Master’s student at Aarhus University in Denmark. Every day, aside from his life and academic responsibilities, he lives with the constant, heavy uncertainty of his family living in Gaza under Israeli bombardment.
In December 2023, Salah participated in a short ethnographic documentary for one week about his daily life and sense of disconnection, loneliness, and resilience while living away from his home and family. This documentary, which we are sharing below, reports information about his life at that time. We subsequently conducted follow-up interviews with Salah in order to update his story in relation to recent developments on the ground in Gaza.
Salah picks up his phone each night and tries to contact his family despite the persistent lack of internet signal and communication from Gaza. Thus, for more than five months, he has had a tough time connecting and speaking with his family, who, from what he knows at the moment, are still striving to survive in the northern part of Gaza.
Photo: Gaia Guatri.
The heart of Gaza has been transformed into a concentration camp where survival hangs by a thread. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that from October 7, 2023, until the end of February 2024, more than 70,000 Palestinians have been injured, and as of this writing, the death toll has reportedly surpassed 30,000. A large majority of the dead and wounded are women and children.
There is mounting evidence that those who have somehow managed to survive so far are very close to starvation. Nearly the entire population has been forced out of their homes, and essential facilities and infrastructures, such as hospitals, schools, and camps, have been destroyed. On March 13, according to Al Jazeera, an Israeli attack on a UN aid distribution center killed at least one UN staff member and injured another 22.
As the world bears witness to the escalating toll of casualties resulting from Israel's war on Gaza, it is easy to succumb to the dehumanizing tendency to reduce human lives to mere numbers.
Activists marching during a pro-Palestine demonstration in Aarhus. (Photo: Gaia Guatri)
Beyond the statistics, however, lie the heart-wrenching reality of individuals like Salah, who, despite the overwhelming challenges, has become a prominent activist in Aarhus, Denmark. Through his advocacy, he endeavours to represent the millions of Palestinians still fighting for their fundamental right to live.
Salah's journey is a testament to the resilience of those trapped in the crossfire, amplifying the human stories that resonate within the broader narrative of conflict and genocide.
Standing on a stage in front of hundreds of people in Denmark's second largest city Aarhus, Salah raises his voice in a sign of resistance and, after looking at the image of Karam, his murdered 9-years old nephew, says:
"Please don't numberize us. Every child who lost their life had a story, memories, just like the rest of us."
Salah speaks at a rally in Aarhus. (Photo: Colin Monahan)
An earlier version of this article was published by the Copenhagen Post at https://cphpost.dk/2024-03-21/life-in-denmark/we-have-two-options-now-dying-or-dying/.
