By Dina Al-Amood | Staff writer
Like millions around the world since October 2023, I found myself glued to my phone, watching Plestia Alaqad’s Instagram stories unfold the realities of the Israeli aggression on Gaza. Through her lens, we all saw the resilience of the Gazan people, the heartbreak of war, and Alaqad’s courage in documenting it all. So, when I learned she’d be participating in a webinar for AUB’s Palestine Week, I knew I couldn’t miss it.
Plestia Alaqad is a Palestinian journalist and poet born in Gaza on December 10, 2001. Currently, she lives in Melbourne, Australia. She used her Instagram account, which has nearly 5 million followers, to share what was happening on the ground in Gaza, helping bring international attention to the humanitarian catastrophe.
In the Q&A session after her talk, she answered a question of mine that I recorded the exact transcript below. Her answer shows how trauma is ever present in the lives of Gazans now. This is how it went;
“First of all, I’d like to say that we all consider you a hero. Thank you so much for having this conversation with us. My question is kind of personal, so you can answer however you want. The trauma you experienced from documenting on the ground is not to be neglected. Is there a piece of music or any form of art that currently helps you process everything?”
“Thank you so much for being here today and listening. I really appreciate it. Okay, to answer your question, first of all, what I’m currently doing is just writing, so basically writing just helps me to feel better, to write everything down helps. And also talking to people from back home, people from Gaza, who understand what I’m going through and are basically going through the same thing also helps. I do have friends from Gaza who [took refuge in] different places, so talking to them makes me feel that I’m not alone.
I did consider therapy, there’s a therapist that I already know, he’s from Moscow and living in the United States. I texted him planning to start, but then I thought ugh, I have to figure out the time difference. It made me so lazy that I ghosted him! Anyway, tragic things are still happening, so what’s the point of therapy now? If I call my therapist to tell him, “Oh, I’m sad because my favorite place was bombed and shelled,” he will talk to me through it. But I know the next day the same tragedies will continue to fall on the people and places I love. So I’m kind of not neglecting my mental health. I don’t say to neglect your mental health, but right now I’m not putting it as a priority, to be honest. Of course, I have to consider therapy for the trauma at some point, but I’m not there yet.
As I told you, the only thing that makes me feel better is writing. The other day I tried listening to music. I opened my playlist; I have maybe 400 songs downloaded. But all the songs remind me of people and places that no longer exist. Actually, from the last two songs I listened to, one reminded me of my closest high school friend who was recently killed, and another I associated with a place in Gaza that got bombed. So music has not helped me heal in any way yet.
So there’s nothing that makes me feel better. Whenever I open the gallery, it makes me feel worse. Whenever I listen to music, it makes me feel worse. Whenever I try to watch a movie or disconnect myself for a while, I just feel bad. So yeah, I’m just struggling at the moment.”