Culture is the DNA of your identity, with Atef Abu Saif

Palestinapodden

Today's guest is someone who has experienced the Israeli occupation firsthand. He was born in Gaza City, in the Jabalia refugee camp. As a teenager, he was almost killed during the first Intifada. He has been arrested and held in Israeli detention without charge or trial multiple times, and has survived several wars in Gaza. On October 7th 2023, he was scheduled to attend celebrations for Palestinian Heritage Day at several locations across the Gaza Strip, alongside his son Yasser. What was supposed to be a 3-day trip quickly turned into an 85-day fight for survival before he was evacuated.

Atef Abu Saif is an internationally recognized author and playwright. During the 85 days he spent in Gaza, he kept a diary, which was continuously published in Western newspapers, such as New York Times. These excerpts have now been turned into a 85-day-long diary, titled "I Want to Be Awake When I Die! A Diary from a Genocide." This is Atef Abu Saif's second war diary. In his first, titled "Under the Drones: A Diary from Gaza," where he describes the situation during the 51-day war in 2014.