We Are Not Numbers

I refuse to accept the reality that tries to make me abandon my dream. The reality says I cannot leave, that I am trapped here, unable to travel beyond Gaza’s borders. But I will not accept that fate. My dream is to study abroad, to immerse myself in knowledge and opportunity so that I can return and serve my community. I will take this scholarship, and with every step I take, I will bring back what I learn to help rebuild Gaza, give hope, and create a future for us all.

Read Ali Mohammad Sbaih's full story 👇

Dreams trapped at the border - We Are Not Numbers We believe that access to high-quality education will transform our own lives and allow us to participate in rebuilding Gaza.

This week, our writers joined an engaging online session, "Writing What You've Lived," led by Palestine Book Award, American Book Award, and Pulitzer Prize winner, scholar, and writer Mosab Abu Toha.

Abu Toha spoke about writing from lived reality and how personal experiences can become stories that connect with readers. At We Are Not Numbers, we believe that the people living these realities—under Israeli occupation, siege, genocide, or in the diaspora—are the ones who should tell these stories. Their words carry the details, experinces, and perspectives that no one else can replace.

How do we tell stories that inform, connect, and stay with readers?

This week, our writers joined a session, "How to Leave a Human Touch?", led by Palestinian journalist Sami Abu Salem.

Drawing on his years of experience reporting for international media and his award-winning work in photojournalism, Abu Salem shared practical insights on writing with authenticity, empathy, and emotional depth, while keeping every story grounded in accuracy and purpose.

The session is part of our Cohort 19 training program, which supports Palestinian writers in developing their storytelling and journalism skills.

Today’s session, as part of the We Are Not Numbers Cohort 19 training program, was led by Mohammed R. Mhawish on “Generating Ideas for a New Story.” Mhawish is an award-winning writer and reporter from Gaza City. He is the recipient of multiple journalism awards, was named Storyteller of the Year by the Institute for Middle East Understanding in 2025, and was recently selected as a 2026 Livingston Awards Finalist for International Reporting.

During the session, Mohammed guided our writers through the process of generating new story ideas, expanding their narratives, and developing compelling personal stories.

Today’s session, as part of the We Are Not Numbers Cohort 19 training program, was led by Mohammed R. Mhawish on "Generating Ideas for a New Story." Mhawish is an award-winning writer and reporter from Gaza City. He is the recipient of multiple journalism awards, was named Storyteller of the Year by the Institute for Middle East Understanding in 2025, and was recently selected as a 2026 Livingston Awards Finalist for International Reporting.

During the session, Mohammed guided our writers through the process of generating new story ideas, expanding their narratives, and developing compelling personal stories.

As part of the training sessions provided to We Are Not Numbers Cohort 19, WANN hosted another workshop led by Dr. Ihab Suliman, a lecturer, translator, trainer, and writer in the English language.

During the session, we introduced participants to paragraph and essay organization, equipping the writers with practical tips and techniques to strengthen their narrative writing skills and improve the overall quality of their writing.

The session also included individual and group activities.

Today, the writers of We Are Not Numbers took part in a writing skills workshop led by Dr. Ihab Suliman, as part of our ongoing training program in Gaza.

Today, the writers of We Are Not Numbers took part in a writing skills workshop led by Dr. Ihab Suliman, as part of our ongoing training program in Gaza.

During the session, participants explored sentence structure, clarity, and the essential writing techniques that will help them craft stories and strengthen their voices.

We Are Not Numbers has welcomed its 19th cohort of young Palestinian writers, bringing together a new generation of storytellers committed to sharing authentic Palestinian experiences with global audiences.

Throughout the program, participants will receive training in creative and journalistic writing, storytelling, public speaking, media engagement, international law, human rights, and other related subjects. Sessions will be delivered by experts from around the world through a combination of in-person workshops and live virtual training.

As the program progresses, each writer will be paired with an internationally recruited English-language mentor. These mentors — published writers, journalists, and editors — will guide participants in developing and refining personal stories for publication on the WANN website.

This philosophy stems from Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor’s broader approach: involving victims of human rights violations in the process of advocating for and defending their own rights, rather than having others speak on their behalf.

Read more:

We Are Not Numbers launches 19th cohort of writers - We Are Not Numbers The writers will receive six months of training in journalism and other topics and also will be paired with international mentors.

We Are Not Numbers, a project of Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, has launched its nineteenth cohort of writers for the first time since the onset of the genocide in Gaza in October 2023.

The new cohort includes 41 young Palestinian men and women from the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, the United States, Canada, and Ireland. Over the next six months, participants will receive intensive training in creative writing, journalism, human rights, documenting violations, and conducting interviews with victims and eyewitnesses, in addition to public speaking, photography, and media engagement.

The project's in-person activities and training sessions are resuming in the Gaza Strip for the first time since the genocide began on 7 October 2023. The project was forced to partially suspend its activities following the outbreak of the genocide, while continuing to mentor writers remotely and publish hundreds of stories documenting the realities of life under genocide.

“Are Not Numbers was created “to empower victims to move beyond a state of passive suffering and victimhood and become narrators of their own stories, documenting the pain they have endured, their resilience, and speaking directly to the world without intermediaries,” said Ahmed Alnaouq, co-founder of the project.
“For far too long, their voices have been silenced, while their experiences were reduced to cold statistics, distorted, or ignored. Yet these victims have every right to be heard and believed, because truth does not need permission to be true.”

Alnaouq added: “Today, more than ever, the world needs to listen to the people who lived these stories themselves, not through intermediaries or numbers, but through their full human voices. Dignity begins when a person is recognised as the owner of their story, not as a statistic, but as a complete life that deserves to be seen and understood.”

Euro-Med Monitor launched We Are Not Numbers in 2015, a few months after Israel’s devastating military offensive on Gaza in July–August 2014.

The project aims to support young Palestinians affected by occupation in sharing their personal stories and the stories of their communities through a human rights-based approach that goes beyond numbers, statistics, and news reports. At its core, the project seeks to convey the emotional and intellectual dimensions of the writers’ experiences, aspirations, and diverse interests.