Dear creative souls and project collaborators!

Since I last posted an updated, I have received two pages (blankets) and I have crocheted one more myself. We now have a total of five pages plus the cover. And if you check the project excel sheet here, you'll notice that others have already finished several other pages (which I am yet to receive). 
So, we are moving along. Slower than I naively expected, but moving along nonetheless. 

Of course, these 30 initial pages with names represent only a fraction of the people who have died in Gaza, and the number had grown dramatically to over 30,000 or even 40,000 according to some sources. 

This project is about creating more and more awareness on what's happening in Gaza, and the extent of the genocide and destruction. It is also about putting down in the records of history this violent and insatiable hatred of Palestinians, and saying out loud that Never Again. This should not be happening now, and should never happen again in the future.

If you know any friends who share these values and would like to collaborate, please let them know. We still need many more people to help this project come to life.

Also, although I am considering doing an online exhibition, I would prefer to have the installation in a gallery for people to visit, read, contribute by adding their works of support and compassion, and maybe even adding a knitted or crocheted pillow, or toy or booties - anything they feel they can and want to contribute.

Thank you again to everyone who has joined and shared and contributed.
xoxox 
Fadwa

Dear creative souls and contributors,

Thank you all of you who have been working with me to create this journal to represent the overwhelming situation facing people in Gaza.

My project was initially conceived as a journal with knitted or crocheted pages, each representing 200 people who have lost their lives in Ga-za under Isr-ae-li attack.  As I had names of the first 6000 people, I thought I would create the journal in three segment; the first would be 30 pages and I would include the names of 6000 people. The second segment would include as many pages as we can make without having to assign colours to age groups. The third segment would include artwork by some Palestinian artists living in Ga-za.

Today, the number of deaths has exceeded 35,000.

I expect to receive some pages/blankets over the coming weeks. I will share whatever I receive as soon as they arrive.

But, honestly, we need many more people to contribute to make this project a reality. To create enough pages for this journal to have an impact and to be more representative of the huge number of people who have died. If you are able to make more pages, please let me know and/or update your name in the excel sheet here. And please share with others who you think can/would like to contribute and be a part of this project.

I am also facing another challenge. The venue. I haven't yet been able to find a gallery that accepts hosting this installment.

For myself, I have finished one beige page (women 56-74), one purple page (men 25-55), one partial brown page (75+), I'm working on the cover. I expect to start a dark blue (men 15-24) page today.

Below are photos of cats and works :-)
Please share photos of your work in progress - and cats/dogs/birds/horses .. I'd love to see and share.

May I ask again:
Make another page or two if you can.
Tell friends and family; maybe they'd like to contribute.
Start a group where many people can work together and make several pages.
Share on social media - maybe your followers would like to contribute.
If you know of a good venue in Spain or the UK, let me know.
If you know someone who can help me get a venue, let me know.
Thank you. Thank you.
If you want to support more - consider following Hope and Play charity, co-founded by my brother, and everyone helping out there is a volunteer, so all proceeds go directly to kids in Ga-za. You can also follow them on Instagram here.
Also, you can consider buying some of my art pieces which I created so that all proceeds would go to Hope and Play, too. Email me if interested.

Thank you and sending you lots of love and positive energy.
xoxox 
​Fadwa

First of all, thank you again to everyone who has joined this project! I deeply appreciate it. But we need more! Please reach out to family and friends and your contacts and followers, anyone you think would love to help.

Today I start working on one purple page. As you can see, what I have is deep bluish-purple, light purple and a medium purple. All is good. And this time, it's all pure wool.

Please remember, you can join in with whatever yarns you have available - if not pure wool, then I can use the pages/blankets in another way to support Gaza. If you have wool or are happy to buy some, that's amazing and we can eventually use the pages as blankets.

Don't forget to share, tell everyone you know, see if you can make a second page in March, update the status of your work in the excel sheet here. 
xoxox
​Fadwa

Today I finished 
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1. Beige page representing 200 Palestinian women aged 56 to 74 killed by Israeli military forces in Gaza from 6 to 27 October 2023. These women also witnessed the Naksa, which means the "setback", on June 5, following the 1967 war, 250,000 Palestinians either fled or were expelled by Israel from the West Bank. 

2. Brown partial page representing 46 Palestinian men ager 75+ killed by Israeli military forces in Gaza from 6 to 27 October 2023. These women also witnessed the Naksa (see above) and the Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and approximately 15000  Palestinians were killed.
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Now working on journal cover.
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To date, 27,000 people have lost their lives in this war on Gaza, including at least 10,000 children.
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Knitters and crocheters from around the world are joining me in creating pages for this art installation.
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If you're interested in contributing, have a look at the video at the top of this page and read through the FAQs. You can comment here or send me an email [email protected]. 
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#IAmWhatIArt
#IAmPalestinian
#journal4gaza 
#artinstallation #artistaplastico #artist #crochet #knittingaddict #fiberarts

Mis queridos colaboradores del Journal 4 Gaza,
​
¡Primero que nada, gracias! Ésta es una contribución que podemos hacer para mostrar al mundo la difícil situación de los palestinos y crear una fuerte representación visual de la magnitud de este genocidio.

Comencemos con el Jounral 4 Gaza con las primeras 30 páginas, porque estas 30 páginas representan aproximadamente 6700 personas cuyos nombres pude obtener del Ministerio de Salud palestino.

Esto es lo que debemos lograr antes del 1 de marzo de 2024:
5 páginas en rosa, que representan aprox. 1001 niñas de 1 a 14 años – color ROSA
2 páginas en naranja, que representan aprox. 494 mujeres jóvenes de 15 a 24 años – color NARANJA
5 páginas en rojo, que representan aprox. 1070 mujeres de 25 a 55 años – color ROJO
1 página en color beige, que representa aprox. 230 mujeres de 56 a 74 años – color BEIGE
 
5 páginas en azul claro, que representan aprox. 1143 niños de 1 a 14 años – color AZUL CLARO
3 páginas en azul oscuro, que representan aprox. 734 jóvenes de 15 a 24 años – color AZUL OSCURO
7 páginas en color violeta, que representan aprox. 1562 hombres de 25 a 55 años – color PÚRPURA
1 página en negro, que representa aprox. 291 hombres de 56 a 74 años – color NEGRO

Puedes utilizar cualquier tono del color indicado, pero reserva unos 100 cm del hilo que utilices. Se le pedirá que envíe esto con la página para que pueda usarlo en la tabla de códigos de colores que se agregará al proyecto.

Utilice este enlace para confirmar su participación y poner su nombre junto a la selección de color de su página para garantizar que hagamos el mejor uso del tiempo y el esfuerzo.

Si tiene más preguntas, consulte las preguntas frecuentes aquí. Si su pregunta no encuentra respuesta en las preguntas frecuentes, envíeme un correo electrónico para poder agregarla.

xoxox
Fadwa

My dearest contributors to Journal 4 Gaza,
​
First of all THANK YOU! This is a one contribution we can make to bring to the world the plight of Palestinians, and to create a strong visual representation of the size of this genocide.

Let us start with the Jounral 4 Gaza with the first 30 pages, because these 30 pages represent approximately 6700 people whose names I waws able to source from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Here’s what we need to accomplish by the 1st March 2024:

• 5 Pages in pink, representing approx. 1001 girls aged 1 to 14 – colour PINK
• 2 Pages in orange, representing approx. 494 young women aged 15 to 24 – colour ORANGE
• 5 Pages in red, representing approx. 1070 women aged 25 to 55 – colour RED
• 1 Page in beige, representing approx. 230 women aged 56 to 74 – colour BEIGE

 

• 5 Pages in light blue, representing approx. 1143 boys aged 1 to 14 – colour LIGHT BLUE
• 3 Pages in dark blue, representing approx. 734 young men aged 15 to 24 – colour DARK BLUE
• 7 Pages in purple, representing approx. 1562 men aged 25 to 55 – colour PURPLE
• 1 Page in black, representing approx. 291 men aged 56 to 74 – colour BLACK

You can use any tone of the indicated colour, but please set aside about 100cm of the yarn you use. You will be asked to send this with the page so I may use it in the color code chart which will be added to the project.

Use this link to confirm your participation and to put your name next to your page colour selection to ensure we make best use of time and effort.

If you have more questions, please see the FAQs here. If your question is not answered in the FAQs, please email me so I can add it.

xoxox
Fadwa

Dear Crocheters and Knitters,
I wanted to share with you an update on this project. Here's a quick overview:

• 15 People have expressed their interest in participating in this project.
• I've met with Waldorf School in Valencia and done a presentation for the teachers & the children. I was very touched by their interest and their questions. And I'm happy to say both teachers and children will be participating by crocheting and knitting pages for this journal.
• Meanwhile, a week earlier, I was invited to recite a poem of my own and a poem by a well-known Palestinian poet - I chose Fadwa Tuqan. The event took place at Sede Universitaria Cuidad de Alicante and over 40 other locations throughout Spain, with the participation of so many Spanish poets and other poets living in Spain. There's building awareness and compassion and solidarity here in Spain.
• If you'd like to join this growing group of participants in creating an Art Installation that aims to create a record and visual representation of this genocide, reach out, comment, share.

Painfully, as I'm launching the initial phases of project, the death tool continues to rise. 
I have spread the word and reached out to family, friends and connections via email, WhatsApp, on Facebook, Instagram, The Dots, and face to face. I'm grateful for all the people who have expressed their intention in participating and being part of this project - although painful, I hope it will create more awareness and draw attention to what's happening right now. And for 107 days so far.
I've had to make a few decisions concerning the numbers, the age groups, the gender, the language, and other details in order to better represent the magnitude of this genocide. 
Please watch this space as I share with you the developments of this project.
Please share the video above as widely as you can and comment below if you're interested in supporting it in any way. You can also share the document below which has the details as the projects stands right now.
Thank you to everyone who has already reached out.
xoxox
​Fadwa​