Supporter: Derar

Derar: "The war in Gaza taught me that I am responsible toward my country as well as my family and my friends. I believe that we are the only ones who must stand up for our rights and I believe that there are many ways to do that. War is not the only choice.

"[The younger generation] have been through tough times and I don't think they would forget what happened. Nor would they easily forgive those responsible for all what happened to them as a result of the war. It would be especially difficult for those who lost their families and homes.

"I cannot ask a child to forget how helpless he was watching his family die, let alone the fear he experienced during bombing. It is really hard. In order for them to overcome this, children would need some therapy although this may take a long time until they fully recover."

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Derar: "We are back to our house. We are repairing the damage. Tal El Hawa is destroyed, but things will get back to normal in two or three days.

"I took a deep breath. I felt somewhat relieved. We were so stressed out when the ceasefire was unilateral, but now that both sides agreed to a ceasefire, we feel much better.

"Until now the war is not over. I still hear some shooting. The war was a turning point in my life. I realized a lot of things. I did not expect all this to happen, and I believe that there were many ways to avoid the war, and avoiding the war would have been better because the destruction is massive. I still don’t know what will happen with my university, but my worry is to let the world know about what happened in Gaza."

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Derar: "Nothing new or special the days are the same... After I wake up I get dressed, I have breakfast, I read or write and if we have electricity I watch television or use the internet, I sometimes see one of my friends who lives close by. I hope nothing changes, that's enough..."

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Derar: "There is an escalation. My family and I are staying in an area called al Nusairat; last night we could not sleep, it was very terrifying because no one knows what is going on, and the shelling sounds closer to cities, it feels like we are besieged, and of course the sounds are louder.

"People are moving from their houses trying to find another shelter. I know people who have moved several times and they keep searching for other shelters; no where remains safe...

"I used to go out with my friends during the evenings. I am sure that when I go back to my home and look out of the window I will see a totally different view. Nowadays, I spend most of the time reading and writing diaries instead of wondering about what is going on and what may happen because in my opinion this will terrify me.

"We are all experiencing a real war, my family hasn't changed, and I haven't seen my friends in two weeks now. But during these days the real personality of a person is revealed; how tolerant, strong, patient and caring a person is. People use the few hours of cease fire to shop for food, get water and medicine if needed because many people are getting sick from the very cold weather, or even take a shower before the attacks resume.

"We listen to the radio and if there's electricity then we watch television, although I hate to watch the news because then I would start to think of my family and myself and what is going to happen to us, so I prefer to know the headlines only."

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Derar: "The situation is better today, but it still feels like something might happen."

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