An Intern From Gaza; Before and Post Genocide

Many people around the world had no clue what life in Gaza was like before October, 2023. I lived almost my entire life in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, where I experienced the daily suffering that had been silenced for decades. As fortunate as I am to have survived the genocide, now I get to reflect on my struggle with unemployment and where I am now.

Even though I was a young, ambitious, excellent English language and literature graduate, I failed to get a job for a long time. I had applied for tens of jobs, but all my attempts were in vain. I remember vividly that I didn’t spare any platform to find a job, including LinkedIn, Jobs.ps, Gaza Recruiters and main social media platforms, like Facebook, Instagram and X. I even joined groups on WhatsApp and servers on Discord so that I don’t miss any opportunity. Yet it still wasn’t enough and I remained jobless for over two years.

Unemployment was a sorrowful experience for me, considering that I was making so many sacrifices and settling for much less than I deserved. Thus, it slowly turned into depression over time. Life under Israeli blockade in Gaza was a tough challenge due to occupation restrictions on all levels in every aspect of life, so you can imagine how hard it is when there’s no money or any source of income, so much energy and an over-thinking brain that prevents sleep at night. But I always knew what I’m capable of, and I just needed a chance to learn, evolve and grow. The fact that I wasn’t utilized at all in my society made me mad. I hated the idea that I was being a waste; my lifetime, energy, skills and any talents that I might have were being squandered and scattered.

I gave up on getting employed in Gaza, and it was the right thing to do because then I started to search for online, remote opportunities. My obsession to find a suitable role drove me to search day and night and boosted me to figure out how to achieve it. It was a journey full of firsts – things I had never done before. Although I decided to think out of the box and take a new approach to escape Gaza’s reality, Gaza’s hardships still overshadowed me in many ways. For instance, power cuts, whether scheduled or sudden, always got in the way. Also, internet connection issues, random cuts and slowness, added to my struggle. Not to mention my old devices, noisy neighborhood, occasional Israeli warplane attacks and other personal issues, which all made a significant impact on me while striving for some success, or even survival.

One day, I don’t remember when exactly, but it was probably in August, 2023, I found a vacancy announcement by Makan on LinkedIn. It was for a Development Officer role, which seemed too advanced for me even though I had some good experience in crowdfunding, writing and communications. Honestly, I knew I was just a beginner in my career, but I was too desperate to let it go. I checked Makan’s website, and I was amazed by how wonderful it was. I instantly liked Makan’s work and believed that I belonged there.

I reached out to Makan, applied, then got an interview with Tamara Ben-Halim, the co-founder and co-director at the time. Although I didn’t get the Development Officer role, it was a blissful beginning for a new chapter for me; I realized I wasn’t qualified after the interview, so I went after another vacancy that fit me more, which was the Communications Intern role. As glad as I was to dare to seek a high-profile position, for me at least, I was so grateful to be in the right place at Makan, which means “place” in Arabic by the way.

My internship started in September, 2023, just one month before the genocide. My worries and concerns about working with a professional team at an organization in the UK faded away quickly as soon as I was warmly welcomed by Makan’s team members. I still recall how nice and respectful they were when I first joined them, especially my supervisor, Aatikah Rashid, whom I worked closely with. It was the best impression I’ve ever had in a workplace environment. It was so good that I was always surprised, maybe because out of the few times I had worked before, I was never treated with such morals and ethics. I was the happiest version of myself in Gaza for five weeks, something I never took for granted ever.

Perhaps my favorite part about my experience then was that I’m a quick learner. Aatikah complimented me many times, especially when I worked on social media designs. It took me two designs under Aatikah’s mentorship and guidance to start designing on my own, she barely had edits for my third design. Moreover, I learned how to use apps for the first time, like Asana for project management, Hootsuite for social media work, and Slack for communications. Now I use ClickUp, Breathe and more. In Gaza, very few organizations use such apps, so it was a big deal for me to level up and meet international standards.

When the genocide started, Israel cut off Gaza’s power. I was upset and frustrated because I didn’t want to miss out on Makan’s internship as it was the best thing to happen to me in years. And when I was about to feel bad about my situation, Makan’s team showed me love, support and solidarity. They comforted me and assured me that I wouldn’t lose my internship. As I was hoping to survive and stay alive, I was relieved. Unlike many organizations and companies who cut off their employees in Gaza, Makan continued to support me even after I had completely been offline and forcibly displaced in a tent in Rafah. That meant the world to me. It was priceless. No experience would top that in my life.

Makan isn’t just an organization, where I worked online, but it is a unique bond that broke through the genocide. The team, particularly Tamara, Aatikah and Dr. Aimee Shalan continued to check on me when I was living my most difficult days. They never got tired of texting me despite the fact that it used to take me days or weeks to reply. The moral support I received from them played a major role in my journey to survive. I used to read their texts in the tent and smile. And I smiled a lot when Tamara read some of my texts in a public event and sent me the video. All those efforts made me hopeful about the future while the future was unforeseeable at the time.

I managed to leave Gaza in April, 2024. My communications internship at Makan was for six months, so it had ended in February, 2024. The first email I sent out when I was in Egypt was to Makan’s team to thank them for everything that they did for me before and during the genocide. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better for me regarding Makan, my mind was blown away by how kind they were when they promised me another opportunity as soon as it’s possible since my internship was cut short because of the genocide. Thus, I’m now typing my words as Makan’s Communications Intern again, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

To be a part of Makan’s team now while Gaza is undergoing a genocide is an embodiment of the catchphrase, “right place, right time.” Not only am I working with people who understand where I’m coming from and what I’m going through, but also we are working together for my Palestinian people.

It starts with a weekly check-in with Aatikah, where we discuss my tasks for the previous and upcoming weeks. Sometimes I face hardships that I need help with, or I need her feedback on my work. Other times we just go for updates, give and receive. Aatikah always reminds me that my internship is a learning experience, especially at times when I don’t seem sure and confident of the results of my work. I don’t underestimate my work, I know I can do better, but I admire and appreciate her constant assurance.

Next up, the weekly meeting, where I get to hear from my colleagues about what they’re working on in terms of research and writing, communications, collaborations, programs and events, and more. I also get to share what I’m doing, which I’m always thanked for with a number of smiles. This meeting is very enlightening because I always hear new names of important people, organizations, events, and topics. It took me a while to catch up with what was being said, now I’m glad I smile with fully understanding my colleagues! I still get nervous when I speak, though, because I’m always impressed by everyone’s work and I feel so humble to be among such a unique group of people. Inspired by my team members, soon enough I aim to level up and match up with their professionalism.

Finally, I start working on my communications tasks for the week. By communications, I don’t mean just responding to texts, emails and meetings I’m getting – it’s more than that. Social media management is a primary part; I work on Facebook and X, platforms that I had worked on before, and Threads and BlueSky, platforms that I’m new to and still discovering. In addition to them, I assist with Instagram and LinkedIn work from time to time. While those are recurring tasks, I do one-off actions, like updating profile pictures and bios, uploading\downloading videos, updating links, etc.

Related to social media, I work on designs for Instagram. After my colleague, Mehdi Beyad, does his research on a certain topic and writes its copy, I use it to create a few slides on Canva. I follow the new guidelines provided by Aatikah as much as I can, and I draft the design. As Makan has evolved while I was away, its design strategy and guidelines have evolved, too. Thus, I’m still adjusting and learning the new style, so Aatikah still has to make changes to my drafts. In all honesty, even though my design skills have improved so much, I can’t call myself a designer yet. It’s a long process, and by the end of the internship I’ll have excelled at designing social media posts.

Another exciting part of my communications experience is the back-end work on the website. For the first time in my life, I learned how to create and send out newsletters. In our newsfeed, I start with an introduction, then share snapshots of the week, our updates and new events, things our subscribers can do for Palestine, resources, visual and audible media, and opportunities. Because I go through many links and pages on a weekly basis to be selective of what we include in our newsfeed, I serve multiple websites and learn so much from what I read and watch. Furthermore, I’m set to work on roundup emails, creating new pages for events, and more website work.

At the moment I’m doing something that I love and miss doing, the essence of communication, and that is writing and storytelling. It’s really wonderful that Makan amplifies my voice by giving me the opportunity to write a blog piece, which will be featured on the website and promoted through our emails and social media channels. This piece of writing is a simple documentation of an important part of my life and career. It’s hopefully a turning point for me to resume opening up and sharing my thoughts and feelings again, even if I get dramatic or informal when talking about a serious opportunity at a prestigious organization, like Makan. This is my way of being myself, a simple, young man from Gaza, Palestine, who’s starting over in life after surviving the most brutal and deadliest genocide in the modern time.

As I aspire for a career in communications, this internship has been adding so much more to me now. I’m constantly searching, learning and executing communications practices to serve Makan’s mission of education for liberation. When it comes to thinking of it, it’s one of the best ways for me to contribute to our Palestinian cause. And in the future when I strive to complete my postgraduate studies in communications, I’m positive my internship at Makan will make a difference for me, especially when I seek recommendation for a scholarship. I’m honored, proud, grateful and blessed to have had this opportunity, and I look forward to raising Makan’s name anywhere I go in the future.

Proudly,