To tell the story of children and people living in Gaza Strip, one must go beyond the statistics to see the human cost of conflict and look at the hope and the strength that still exists in the eyes of Palestinians.

The project was implemented by aptART (Awareness & Prevention Through Art) and me with the assistance Palestinian artist duo Anwar Yehya and Hamzah Mansour in association with Mercy Corps and Kaynouna Arab Art Therapy. All together with youth and adults in Gaza we painted walls with stories, ideas and questions. The walls speak of strength, courage, forgiveness, hope and the desire for freedom. The eyes of children who participated in the project were also painted across the walls. Their eyes ask for acknowledgement as they tell the story of Gaza, a story that can only exist if you look for it.

‘I see you. Do you see me?’, ‘We see hope in our children’s eyes’, ‘Eyes of humanity’ or ‘I see truth’ are titles and subjects of a total of eight workshops in which each resulted in a differently painted wall.

In January 2016 I had the pleasure of being exhibited with my photos documenting the whole project at Zara Gallery in Amman, Jordan.