I finally understood the true meaning of Earth Day Israel’s conflict and the two

When I was a school student, every morning, we were gathering in the school square and singing the songs designated for our land, Palestine. Many of our chapters have learned our culture and traditions deeply rooted in the Palestinian territory.

Every March 30, we were celebrating Earth Day. The girls were wearing embroidered dresses, and the boys were wearing white shirts and Keffiyeh. We used to sing under the high Palestinian flag and revive the Palestinian land conflict.

I fully realized the true meaning of what I learned in this struggle only when I faced displacement from my home, when I faced the true possibility of a ground loss.

She was born and brought up in the Shujaya neighborhood on the eastern side of Gaza City. It is a centuries -old neighborhood, where farmers and merchants settled. Over time, it became one of the most intense populations in Gaza in Gaza, known for its strong societal relations and the history of the resistance. It is not a coincidence that one of his most prominent people is Dr. Refaat AlarEer, poet, researcher, and professor in English, who inspired me to write and resist.

My family lived in Shujaya for several centuries. They built the house after the house in the same area until they invented a long street known as the Mushhaha Street. This is not just a name. It is a testimony of the depth of our roots in this land.

We don’t only have our homes in Shujayea but also our agricultural lands. She grew up to play on my grandfather Oliv Group, who inherited him from his predecessors. We taught olive trees how to love our land, and how we are steadfast like them.

I never thought, even for a minute, from leaving my house, in my neighborhood. When I was a child, I never dreamed of living elsewhere, I wanted to stay where my lineups lived happily, inherited the land, to tend to olive trees.

It was the first time that we had to flee from Schoujaya when Israel attacked in 2014. I was very young at the time, but I remember every moment of our evacuation. I remember the missiles and shrapnel around them and the voice of screaming and crying. It was a painful experience, but all of them, I was sure that we will return soon.

Then, it happened again after approximately 10 years. Throughout the genocide, my family and I had to flee our house more than 10 times. The longest had to stay away from our region for three months. But we did not go far. Despite the very difficult circumstances, we did not escape to the south; We stayed in the north.

Shujayea endured two conquests during this war, the first in December 2023, and the second in June 2024. The second came suddenly, without warning, in a summer morning while the residents were still in their homes.

When the Israeli tanks reached Shujayea, the old markets, restaurants, electricity columns and water pumps were targeted, and many areas were settled so that they cannot be identified. The streets once turned gray with destruction.

My family’s house was bombed and partially destroyed. My grandfather’s land also spared. The trees that stood for generations, and which gave the fruit endless seasons, were uprooted and burned.

The loss of Olif groves has proven a lot to my grandfather. Within three months of hearing the devastating news, he died.

Today, we face the possibility of its displacement again. People began from the eastern part of Shujaya to flee at the threats of the Israeli army again. We don’t know what will happen next. People are afraid, but they still hope that there will be a ceasefire.

This year, the Earth Day mark carries a different meaning: despite the ongoing group of genocide, we are still here, we are still standing, and we still stick to the land that we inherited from our ancestors. We will not surrender.

On this day, I remember the poem of Dr. Airlah:
Q, Earth
Hug me
I dwell in me tightly
Or to devour me
To not suffer more.
I love you
So take me.
Make me rich.
Make me dirt.
The days of serenity have come.
Guns are the words of humanity.
I have nothing but a fork,
No sport but sigh.
For a soldier, he needs to feel height.
Q, Earth,
If you are in life, I will hurt
Leave dirt in childbirth.
Q, Earth.

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