Can a Story Ripple?

‘‘Can a Story Ripple?’’ is a review of excerpts from Radio Atheer’s journey. A narrative experienced by artists, musicians, journalists, and writers from Palestine. They documented aspects of contemporary life, reclaimed history, and the community's heritage within their artistic vision. The radio platform contributed to fostering exchange and experimentation among young actors and enthusiasts, encouraging the production of inspiring, culturally rich, and detail-oriented audio content. The exhibition explores this story through weaving a composite experience framed by testimonials from participants in an exceptional production titled "Stories from and about Gaza." This aimed to record the stories of the besieged city and document its residents' determination to continue their narrative. We attempt to trace the extension of these stories beyond borders, illuminating the convergence within the narrative of a unified populace through various depictions and manifestations.

We are one
Or two
Looking at everything from out the world’s window
Until it turns salty blue
So pure
Wild
Needs a lot of weeping and longing
Scared blue.
I am the sea’s daughter and you are my father
We don’t resemble the mountain’s height and solidity
We are mixed together
Life is sweeping us away from life
It doesn’t understand that we prefer drowning
So we drown until they find us embalmed.

Batool Abu Akleen – To My First Father, the Sea – translated by the author with Cristina Viti

Fidaa Hasanat

Under the roof of war and death, there was something of life being born with every breath and every step. Today, our story is about host homes...
The more displaced people we have in the house, the more we feel it stands strong, as if the houses are rooting themselves deeper into the homeland. In today's episode, we will showcase the experience of one of the host homes, which, like many others, has welcomed displaced people and felt warmth in the coldest winter nights. This is my experience, Fidaa Al-Hasanat, sharing with you some of our stories of war under the roof of my home, which represented safety for me, my friends, and their families.

Ahmad Salameh

Between death and death, the hardest decision was to be forced to cross the checkpoint with your hands raised. In this episode, I, Ahmad Salama, will tell you the story of how we were made to cross the Israeli checkpoint that divides the Gaza Strip in two during the Israeli war on Gaza.
Today's episode is titled "House of Houses," prepared and produced by Ahmad Salama with support from Radio Athir as part of the audio production grants funded by the European Union and the Goethe-Institut.

Shahd Bani Odeh

In Love with Gaza
In this episode, we listen to Gaza-based journalist Hind Al-Khudairi. All our questions for Hind might seem simple about life, her upbringing, her work, her family and home, and her love for Gaza. But what is extraordinary is the timing and context of this episode's production. What is extraordinary here are Hind's circumstances and her choice to stay in Gaza after six months of the occupation's attempts to annihilate Gaza and its insistence on erasing it from the face of the earth.
Hind answers every "ordinary question" with responses that surpass herself, her journalistic work, and every human story.

Dahaleez

I wanted to tell you about...

It is a contemporary audio work from the memory of the streets of Gaza, capturing moments that neither cameras nor words documented. This work is a collective retrieval of memory through personal stories that intersect in different times and places. This tapestry of our memory about the place is the memory of the city/streets that have been subjected to erasure and destruction during the ongoing war for more than 180 days.

Hurriya Ziadeh

This episode tells the story of Ahmad Al-Naoq, who lost 21 family members during the recent Israeli aggression on Gaza. The episode focuses on the idea of writing and documenting with the aim of achieving active remembrance of stories from and about Palestine. Ahmad began writing and recording the story of his brother, whom he lost during the 2014 aggression on Gaza, and continues today to write and narrate his family's story in all forums. This makes the story a tool for healing and resistance, ensuring that our memories and history do not fall into oblivion. Ahmad Al-Naoq and his wife, Yumna, shared the pain and also shared love. They lost their loved ones and built a home filled with love, strength, and memories told aloud with words.

Sura Abu Al-Rob

In this episode, Uncle Salim Azar, known as Abu Fadi, shares his memories of Gaza. Speaking in his unique Gazan dialect, he offers an intimate talk about its people, and particularly its sea. He talks about his longing to watch the sunset on the beach after years of deprivation, reminiscing about the neighborhood where he grew up and the unique relationships that bind the people there. He describes Gaza as a beautiful, unique city in his memory, as he sees it, far from the fires of war that have touched everything in it.

Omar Kalloub

In the Gaza war, there are over 2 million stories, each one telling about the people and their resilience in this city. In today's podcast, I will take you with me to experience one of these stories—my own.

Ramz Bsharat

Difficult days and nights pass for Gazans stranded in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and within Israel, far from their families and homes that have been under constant bombardment since last October. In this podcast, "Stranded Until Further Notice," we will hear the story of Umm Mahmoud, who came with a medical permit to accompany her daughter Abir, a cancer patient. She got stranded in Ramallah indefinitely, her fate still unknown, just like hundreds of other stranded patients.

Hiba Obaid

Qasim Al-Masri is a Palestinian doctor and activist from the Gaza Strip, who has been living in Berlin for nearly twenty years. He studied medicine in Germany and specialized in pediatrics. In addition to his work as a doctor, he is one of the organizers and founders of the Sawt Cultural Festival in Berlin and is also an activist in the "Palestine Speaks" movement.

In this episode, Qasim will take us on a journey between the past and the present, sharing his first impressions of Berlin, as well as his childhood and adolescence in the Gaza Strip. He will also tell us how Berlin has become a home for many Arabs and Arabic speakers, among others. Through the episode, we will also learn how current events in Gaza are impacting Sonnenallee Street in Berlin, also known as Arab Street, and how this street has become a meeting point for all demonstrations supporting the Palestinian cause in the city.

Ikhlas Abu Hussein

In each of our lives, there is a defining moment of transformation, after which life is never the same. One such moment was the Great Crossing on October 7th, which revealed many truths and dispelled much of the illusion within ourselves, our lifestyles, practices, priorities, and principles.

In this podcast, we will speak in the language of the people about the changes they experienced, some of the illusions that faded away for them, and how Gaza has redefined life for them.

Hisham and Razan Abu Asaker

Hisham and Rizan are Gazan siblings living in exile, discussing in this episode their experience of leaving their beloved city Gaza through the "smuggling tunnels" and Israeli checkpoints, and their return to it through their memories that resist erasure as the city is being erased before their eyes. Hisham talks about the places, the land, and the cultural life that shaped him there and crafted his poetic identity, which became a trace after October 7th. Meanwhile, Rizan sets off from the rubble in front of her house to explore her relationship as a Palestinian woman with the land and the language she inherited from her grandmother in connecting with the land, and how the occupier strives to break this relationship and erase it.

محمد فرحات

In this episode of the "Stories from and about Gaza" podcast, we host a writer and poet to tell us his story in the Gaza Strip under the harsh conditions left by the Zionist occupation, especially the successive wars and the imposed blockade on the strip. Opportunities for their Arabic and international participation became very limited due to the occupation. Our conversation with him will discuss his challenges and the difficulties he faces in exile from his home and the tough days he has faced and continues to face.

Ammar Abu Hussein

In this episode, we narrate stories of children who grew into responsibilities before growing up themselves, children from Gaza who became the targets of the Israeli occupation's war, their dreams and hopes becoming the focus of this oppressive war. They may be the same children I saw playing six years ago in Gaza, and their stories may resemble those of Amir, the flour martyr, or Shahd, the lone survivor from under the rubble.

These stories were written by bloggers and writers from Gaza, following the advice of the poet Dr. Rafat Al-Areer when he said, "If I must die, then you must live to tell my story." Just as Palestinians have narrated their stories in various ways over time, here we narrate the stories of those without a voice among our young siblings in Gaza, in a small attempt to live a part of their tragedy and suffering.

Tamer Nijem

In today's episode of the podcast, we present impactful audio recordings of displaced individuals from Gaza to Rafah. You will listen to live stories narrated in their own voices, covering the details of their daily lives from early morning until the last moments of the day.

These recordings reflect the harsh reality faced by the displaced in the camps, where they deal with long queues to obtain basic necessities and face exorbitant prices that make life more difficult and challenging.

The goal of this episode is to shed light on the difficult conditions faced by the displaced in the camps, and how this impacts their daily lives amidst displacement and disruptions. Our aim is to highlight the hardships and challenges these people face, so that the world understands their urgent need for support and assistance.

Omar Mousa

Barber Mohammed Anwar Bakir opens a historical window for us into the profession of barbering in Gaza, taking us on a journey that narrates the history of the barbering profession and barbers in Gaza. Mohammed manages the Al Ramal Men's Salon in Gaza, one of the oldest barber shops in the area, continuing the legacy of his father Anwar Bakir. In this episode, Mohammed shares his relationship with the barbering profession and discusses his book about the history of barbering and barbers in Gaza.

Wael Jarwan

The episode explores the reality of life in Gaza during times of war and displacement, focusing on the difficult conditions that residents endure and how these conditions affect the practice of various professions.

The episode is characterized by a positive outlook and optimism, highlighting the resilience and strong will of individuals in facing challenges. The phrase "There is a pharmacy here," which has become a slogan for businesses in the camps, reflects the spirit of resilience and hope in confronting difficult circumstances.