In Gaza's displacement camps, songs of defiance fill the air— a testament to the enduring spirit of a people who have endured 15 months of brutal war and, before that, crippling siege, and before that, 75 years of Israeli occupation and oppression.
Mass displacement was a defining feature of this latest war, accompanying death (more than 40,000 killed; likely a huge underestimate), injury, disease and starvation. But in Gaza's crowded, dilapidated displacement camps, music rings out from those struggling to stay alive in the midst of a genocide.
Even though a ceasefire was recently realised, countless families have no homes to return to, with 92% damaged or destroyed by Israel. With so many people having nowhere to go, many are returning back to their displacement camps in Deir al-Balah and Al-Mawasi, where they contend with the biting cold and their crippling anxiety over the future.
In the evenings, the camp's residents gather to commiserate. Despite their grief and worry, laughter can sometimes be heard. Together, they sing traditional Palestinian and Arab folk songs. Music rings out over the tents—an attempt to drown out the echoes of war and the omnipresent hum of drones.
They raise their voices in a defiant retort to their oppressors, showing that no amount of brutality can crush their spirits, love of life, and deep connection to their culture—one that has been carefully passed down through the generations and one that Israel seeks to annihilate and erase.
Music is therapy
Children and teenagers are coached by their musically gifted peers, whether through voice or instrument. But these classes are more than lessons in culture; they also aim to heal—a kind of chicken soup for the soul of a people scarred by war. Through the expressive language of music, children let out their anxiety and pain. Through their shared trauma, deep social bonds are formed.
During times of war, emotions can be bottled up as people struggle with the everyday grind of survival. But Gaza's musicians explain how important it is for people to let out their feelings and how music can help heal by allowing people to cry through their pain, channel their anger and even feel hope.
Singer and oud player Ahmed Abu Hassanein tells Al Majalla that music has helped bring joy to Palestinians living in these makeshift camps.
"Even if only for a short while, music can help people forget their sorrows," he says. "It is a way to reclaim life upended by war and cannot be touched by the death surrounding it."
