‘Gaza teaches life’: How Arab creatives from Gaza, Egypt, Syria create resistance art

Emotions, thoughts, ideas, hopes, and dreams — we all have them, but is everyone given the chance to realise these intrinsically human values?

As chants of “Free Palestine” resound ever so loudly from people in South Korea and Malaysia to Paris, New York, Dublin, Morocco, South Africa, and countless other cities across the globe, a team of young creatives are using aesthetic and evocative prose and art amidst ongoing Israeli bombing as a form of resistance — and reminding the world that “Gaza teaches life.”

“We say that in Gaza, we teach life. That’s the saying, the quote in our country — Gaza teaches life,” says Momen Talal Nassar, who is echoing words belonging to Palestinian poet Rafeef Ziadah’s moving poem We Teach Life, Sir.

Nassar, a fellow Palestinian, is the founder and CEO of Kaleem, a brand and platform he created three years ago. Based in Istanbul, the 28-year-old and a couple of friends first started featuring interviews with avid readers, asking them to share their favourite books and love for literature.

Kaleem, which creates content in Arabic, has been growing ever since. From telling the tragic love story of Layla and Majnun by Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi to honouring the likes of Mai Skaf, a Syrian actress and democracy activist, and prominent Palestinian political thinker and author Ghassan Kanafani — through Kaleem, Nassar and his current core team members weave Arab history, art, and culture through a vibrant literary lens.

They’ve even created characters to express messages and ideas. There is Kaleem the whale, whom Nassar decided to personify because he feels “whales are wise” and “have this attitude of being calm.” And then, there are the main character’s two human friends, Joud and Adam, who make the occasional minor appearances in posts.

“We talk art. We talk about current issues. We talk politics. We talk poetry. We talk about anything we want, anything we feel that is right,” Nassar tells TRT World. “I chose the name Kaleem, and it means, in Arabic, [someone who] is a good talker and good listener at the same time.”

Kaleem is a collaborative effort between Nassar and four other creatives based around the Middle East. They include content writer Farah Tayyara, 27, in Homs, Syria; graphic designer Hanady Altawil, 22, in Gaza, Palestine; social media and marketing manager Aisha Alboushi, 23 in Aleppo, Syria; and digital artist and graphic designer Basma Abdelnaser Mohamed, 20, in Sharqia, Egypt.

Since October 7, the content on Kaleem has been focused on Gaza, where relentless Israeli missile strikes are ongoing. Nassar says: “I think we — the people outside Palestine, feel [helpless] because we don’t have, like, political power. But we have words, we can talk [about what’s happening in Gaza]. It’s important to talk about.”

Nassar adds: “We want our country free and so we have to start talking [not just] about this war, but about the whole of Palestine … It’s an issue for anyone whether they are Muslim, Arab, or any person in this world [who has] humanity.”

Nassar has lost friends and family, including his aunt, uncle, and their three children, all killed in an Israeli airstrike. One cousin’s heart stopped after a frightening missile missed her home but hit a neighbouring house. “She was 30. She had two kids, and she died from the fear. She was so afraid,” he shares.

For about a week, Nassar and his team were not able to get in contact with their only member based in Gaza, and feared the worst had happened from the ongoing bombardment. Thankfully, he says she eventually responded, and is safe for now. “We pray for Hanady’s safety, wallah.”

The entire situation is heartbreaking, and is what drives him to create awareness and push for meaningful action through Kaleem, Nassar adds.

“I told my family, I can’t cry. I see the things happening, and I’m sad, but I can’t cry. I don’t know why, [maybe it’s] from the shock or something. I see some pictures, and I dream about them in my sleep. But I can’t cry.

“And so, I feel like if I stop [advocating for Palestine], it’s wrong. I can’t, wallah. I have to continue to talk about Palestine, to talk about anything that could help our country. This is the motivation.”

Having witnessed so much death and destruction while researching and sharing posts about what’s currently taking place in Gaza, including losses on a personal level, Nassar says that it can seem like “dying alone is a privilege.”

Privilege to die alone? The thought hits you abruptly — it sounds sad and sombre and confusing at the same time. But Nassar clarifies that for Palestinians like him, dying alone means dying after having the luxury of living life.

In Gaza, families sheltering together, sometimes huddling with groups of people from the neighbourhood in a single house, are faced with the tense reality of airstrikes that crumble buildings within seconds.

“You would die with your mom, with your sister, or like six or seven people would die in the same home, so people are saying to die alone is a luxury now, because [when] most people die, [there is only] their death alone.

“Some people die in pieces,” Talal pensively added, shaking his head, “They’re [wrapped] in packages. That’s our kids … do you see? It’s unbelievable.” Lately, many posts on Kaleem feature such devastating imagery.

There is a lot to speak up about, but Nassar and his team are not in this alone. After putting out a post calling for volunteers who could help in design work, writing, and more, the response was immediate, he says. Over 200 people from the Arab diaspora scattered around the world eagerly pledged to lend a hand, leading to the creation of Kaleem Global on October 12.

“They help with content in Arabic, and now that we started Kaleem Global, [there is content] in English, Turkish, and French. Some people can translate to Spanish, and some to Russian, but the page is not as big as the others yet.”

The Kaleem brand umbrella has flourished to now include separate social media pages like Kaleem Whale, Kaleem Studio, and Kaleem Global, in addition to the main Kaleem page. “Right now, we’re making a podcast. It’s called Shams in Arabic, which means sun in English. It’s just about Palestine,” Nassar adds.

Content that goes on Kaleem’s main page typically requires extensive research and effort in terms of design, while Kaleem Whale shares more graphic-based posts. Kaleem Studio — through which the team offers writing and designing services to paying clients — was created after Nassar struggled to find suitable funders.

According to Nassar, there is a gap in the Arabic-speaking market for content that both speaks freely and reflects the voice as well as interests of everyday people and the youth, be it bright ideas or topics on current affairs.

Many of the most successful podcasts and social media pages in the Arab world today, he says, lack free rein to express themselves, adding that they are usually backed by large media companies or owned by profit-driven corporations.

Nassar has walked away from multiple funding opportunities for Kaleem. He respectfully had to decline offers because interested parties would hold conflicting beliefs or usually demand creative control over the platform and additional pages that comprise “Kaleem world” and their respective audiences to boot, says the CEO and founder.

Instead, Nassar shares that the team relies on Kaleem Studio for income. “For now, unfortunately, we didn’t meet with anyone who wants to support our ideas for nothing, like someone who loves something good for our community. Some people want to control Kaleem completely … They will give you good money, but we can’t. We said no. We love Kaleem."

For Nassar and his team, Kaleem as a whole is a vehicle for amplifying important causes and voices of the people, demonstrated through the beautiful and poetic, sometimes tragic, flair of prose and art.

As Nasser puts it: “We give people hope. We [tell them] we’d love to live if we’re given a chance to. We love life if we can go into it.

“I hope Palestine will become free very soon. We believe in the resistance of Palestine... I hope people don’t get tired of talking about Palestine. I hope they will continue talking.”