Gaza Mama: Politics and Parenting in Palestine

How does a mother explain the complex reality of Gaza to her own young children, rightly perplexed at the attitude of visa authorities, the threats of Israeli soldiers and the pain and unbelonging experienced by those around them, for a homeland that they are often denied entry to and seldom see? How can a journalist cover the story of her homeland ‘objectively’, while it is being bombed and occupied, its occupants imprisoned and dispossessed?

El-Haddad’s book is the story of a Gazan, life and blood, reporting on Palestinian politics and elections, massacres and border controls, and Israel’s 22-day bombardment and blockade of Gaza in 2008-2009, the infamous Operation Cast Lead.

The Author

Laila El-Haddad is an award-wining Palestinian writer, political analyst and public speaker from Gaza City. She is the co-author of the critically acclaimed The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey, and co-editor of Gaza Unsilenced. From 2003-2007, El-Haddad was the Gaza correspondent for the Al Jazeera English website and a regular contributor to the BBC World Service.

Reviews

Gaza Mama is both a personal diary and a selection of political articles.—The Hindu

Haddad creates a repository of memory and cultural survival in the face of an inflammatory phenomenon and permanent uncertainty…—The Sunday Tribune