New West Bank and Gaza Interviews on CultureGrams
CultureGrams recently added three new faces to the Interviews collection. So far, CultureGrams features over 400 interviews that represent the perspectives and life experiences of people from all around the world. Interview responses are edited for clarity and comprehension but CultureGrams editors try to preserve the original voice and thoughts of the interviewees. They are a reflection of how those individuals see their lives and the countries and cultures they live in. Over the years interviewees have shared with us their happiest moments, greatest hopes, and their biggest challenges in life.
Here are just a few of those insights from our most recent additions:
"As a citizen living in Gaza, which has been under siege for the last 10 years, my biggest worry is that I can’t travel abroad to study. I am a diligent student and I have the potential to achieve my dreams, but being restricted here in Gaza will be a barrier. Even if I finish my studies in Gaza, I will not be able to find work easily here. We are almost 2 million people in a closed area with limited resources. I am so worried about all the opportunities that could be available for guys my age but that we can’t access because we are in Gaza."
"Back then, girls’ education was a luxury in my town. My grandmother took her [my mother] out of school after she finished her fourth year. Despite that, my mother could read very well, but her writing skills were not as good as her reading skills. Gauging by her exceptional logical and mathematical intelligence, I always believed that my mother would have become a great scholar if she could have finished her schooling and gone to college. When I finished high school, my family’s financial situation was so fragile that my chance to start college could have been delayed. I remember how my mother was so eager and tried really hard to lend me money to register at college and did the same with the rest of my siblings. She made our education her priority. My parents even supported my sisters with their college expenses even after they got married."
Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more interviews coming in 2018, which we will highlight here on the blog. Until then, discover more interviews from countries all over the world in the CultureGrams Interviews gallery!"The most significant event was the marriage of my oldest son. I couldn’t expect how I’d feel as a father on that day. His wedding was outside Gaza, and because of the siege and the fact that we couldn’t leave Gaza easily, the marriage ceremony had been postponed several times, and then finally we decided to hold the ceremony even if we couldn’t attend. My oldest son would have been alone without any member of his family. That would have been tragic. But thanks to God, one week before the wedding, the Egyptian border was opened and I was able to cross after spending two days at the border. I attended the wedding with my daughter, as she works with the USAID organization and can be granted a permit to travel. My wife and the rest of the family joined us through online video streaming."