Supported by @britishcouncil.bsky.social, Resilient Voices is a youth-led digital storytelling initiative, empowering young Palestinians to share their stories.
Visit their website to stay connected with this remarkable project as it continues to unfold: resilientvoices.site
#Palestine #Resilience
Biography correction: Please note that Sondos is a student of English Literature, rather than English Language and its Teaching Methodology.
A quote which reads: 'Students in Gaza do not only suffer from war. We study in blackout conditions, attend online classes over unstable connections, and live in constant fear. Hunger and exhaustion remain constant companions, yet we persist. We do not seek sympathy. We seek recognition.'
The author's biography which reads: Sondos Abdalfattah Sobih holds a Bachelor's degree in English Language and Teaching Methodologies from Al-Aqsa University. She began her journey with a professional translation course, where she first dreamed of becoming a legal translator. Sondos continues to develop her skills through an English language diploma and a professional project management course, undertaken alongside her university studies.
From ‘Learning Under Siege’ by Sondos Abdalfattah Sobih
Sondos reflects the unyielding spirit that drives Palestinians to continue despite the impossible.
Read now in the Special Issue: briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Gaza #Resilience #صمود #AlAqsa_University #فلسطين #Hope
A quote which reads: 'Desperately walking through the streets, surrounded by every kind of misery, I see an old man carrying the remains of his life behind him. I see a child pushing, with his tiny hands, a life toward an unknown fate. I ask myself: why? How? So many questions burn in my mind, but only hope answers them.'
A photograph of the author and their biography, which reads: Dana Hamdan is a senior in English Language and Literature at Al-Aqsa University. She is interested in humanitarian work and public service, and presently works with Human Appeal UK in Gaza. Recently, Dana became more involved in writing, and seeks to highlight what her people are going through during these hard times, because she believes in the power of words to make change.
From ‘Where Fear Hides, Hope Shines’ by Dana Hamdan
Combining reportage & reflection, Dana sheds light on the impact of the occupation upon children in Gaza.
Read now in the Special Issue: briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Gaza #Resilience #صمود #AlAqsa_University #فلسطين #Childhood
A quote which reads: 'I loved to gaze at the moon, escaping each night to a balcony, staring at it for hours. I’d imagine the distance between myself and the moon – wondering if it was the same as the distance between me and my home.'
A photo of the author and their biography, which reads: Menna Saber Abo Salem is a fourth-year student of English Language and Teaching Methods at Al-Aqsa University. She is 20 years old. In her own words, “This genocide produced writers… I am telling the world, and writing the stories of my people and my story.” One of her recent works is titled I Roam the Streets and Collect Street Sayings, in which Menna narrates street sayings in colloquial Arabic, alongside their English translations.
From ‘Reflections on Displacement, in Three Parts’ by Menna Saber Abo Salem
In three dispatches, Menna recounts her experiences of ongoing displacement.
Read now in the Special Issue: briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Gaza #Resilience #صمود #AlAqsa_University #فلسطين #Displacement
A quote which reads: 'We, the students of Gaza, face countless difficulties, yet giving up has never been an option. We search for opportunities to learn and make our voices heard. We strive to prove ourselves and, most importantly, to continue our education despite every obstacle.'
A photo of the author and their biography, which reads: Maryam Sharif Abed is a third-year English Literature student at Al-Aqsa University. She is 20 years old, and is originally from Rafah. Maryam has a deep passion for writing and reading, especially novels by Dostoevsky and poetry by Mahmoud Darwish and Al-Mutanabbi. In her own words, “...writing is not just a hobby – it’s my voice, my way of expressing, and my dream”.
From ‘Life as a Student in Gaza Under Siege’ by Maryam Sharif Abed
Maryam's piece is written in dedication to her brother, Abdulrahman, and her close friend, Dima.
Read now in the Special Issue: briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Gaza #Resilience #صمود #AlAqsa_University #فلسطين
A quote which reads: 'We are a people who still dare to plant seeds in scorched earth, still sing lullabies beneath shattered ceilings, and still believe, despite everything, that tomorrow holds light.'
A photo of the author and their biography, which reads: 'Alaa Ashraf El-Qarra is a 25-year-old educator and English language specialist from Gaza. She holds a Bachelor's degree in English Language and Teaching Methodologies from Al-Aqsa University. Over the past three years, she has worked at a private learning centre. She has also served as a volunteer teacher in partnership with UNICEF, providing psychosocial and educational support to displaced children in government schools and tent classrooms.'
From ‘Burning Footsteps’ by Alaa Ashraf El-Qarra
A powerful account of an attack on the Bani Suheila neighbourhood of Khan Younis on 22 July 2024.
Read now in the Special Issue: briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Gaza #Resilience #صمود #AlAqsa_University #فلسطين #Displacement
A quote which reads: '‘The laughter of children playing in the alleyways, despite the shadows of conflict, is perhaps one of the most poignant manifestations of this collective spirit. Their innocent joy, nurtured and protected by the community, is a powerful symbol of resilience and a defiant affirmation of life in the face of adversity’.
A photograph of the author and their biography which reads: 'Shams Mazen Rajab is in her final semester of a degree in English Language and Teaching Methods at Al-Aqsa University. She has a great passion for creative writing and translation. In July 2025, Shams volunteered with a French educational platform aimed at high school students in Gaza. She has also volunteered as a Conversation Leader in English Language Teaching and taught Arabic to foreign students.'
From ‘A Saturday with No Sunday: The Struggle for Existence’ by Shams Mazen Rajab
In reflective prose, Shams describes the realities of living under siege.
Read now in the Special Issue: briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Gaza #Resilience #صمود #AlAqsa_University #فلسطين #Hope
A quote which reads: 'Let this life be renewed – / not for power, / not for pride – / but for the children, / the elders, / and all who ask for a quiet simple joy.'
A photograph of the author, accompanied by their biography which reads: 'Maha Muhammad Al-Farra is a 22-year-old student from Gaza City, currently in her fourth year of studying English Language and Literature at Al-Aqsa University. Poetry is her greatest passion. Maha writes in both Arabic and English and finds strength and healing through creative expression. She believes that art and literature can carry the truth in ways nothing else can.'
From ‘A White Stain in Endless Dark’ by Maha Muhammad Al-Farra
In a poem written from within the reality of war, Maha calls for justice & sends a message of resilience.
Read now in the Special Issue: doi.org/10.24134/BE....
#EducationMatters #Gaza #Resilience #صمود #AlAqsa_University #فلسطين
Decorative.
The first pieces for our issue on Pedagogical Resilience, Challenges and Adaptive Strategies, created by students & faculty of the English Department at Al-Aqsa University, are now live!
www.briefencounters-journal.co.uk/BE/issue/12/...
#EducationMatters #Gaza #Resilience #صمود #Palestine #فلسطين
A quote which reads: “It is high time; I need to dance to the rhythm of the Dhol”.
“It is high time; I need to dance to the rhythm of the Dhol”.
From “‘Off Leisurely Confrontations’ – a Dhol Reconnaissance by Sehr Jalil and Roberto Prestia.
Watch the full piece now in Issue 9!
briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Kathak #ImperialWarMuseum #WWII #India #Dance
A quote which reads: “Nobody saw the beauty of the streets / Until when, frightening in clamour, / The verdant sky collapsed / In the fall of water and shadow”.
From “Reading Borges in Edinburgh” by Eiji Yasuhara
Read the full piece now in Issue 9!
briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#WorldLiterature #LatinAmerican #Japanese #Borges #Edinburgh
A quote which reads: “‘Don’t you find human imagination fabulous?’ he asked her, gently jumping off the book in her hand”.
“‘Don’t you find human imagination fabulous?’ he asked her, gently jumping off the book in her hand”.
From “Lilliput” by Zizhu Wang
Read the full piece now in Issue 9!
briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Fiction #War #InternationalRelations #Realism
A quote which reads: “Solidarity is not just about the spaces we create; it is equally about the support we provide and the communities we build”.
From “Integrating Young Refugees and Asylum Seekers Through Theatre: A Case Study of Compass Collective” by Ellen Frances Wagstaff
Read the full piece now in Issue 9!
briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#YouthTheatre #Refugee #Drama #Wellbeing #Solidarity
Thank you for being part of #CHASEEncounters2025! Stay tuned for post-conference resources and reflections soon. linktr.ee/AutumnEncoun...
A quote which reads: “Like the occult traces of a spiritual practice, and the hidden stories of forgotten artists and techniques, the intensely pigmented surfaces of the Automatic Theorem Paintings leave no trace of the medium that binds them”.
From “The spiritual-artistic practice of Hilma’s Ghost: towards a theory of material solidarity” by Alex Bispham
Read the full piece now in Issue 9!
briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Spirituality #Materiality #ContemporaryPainting
A quote which reads: “The Einstein-Freud exchange remains marked by the very limitations it attempts to diagnose — detached from the material realities of violence and insulated by the privilege of its authors”.
From “Solidarity and the Group Ego: a Psychosocial Exploration of Solidarity in Times of Crisis” by Daphne Kalogeropoulou
Read the full piece now in Issue 9!
briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Solidarity #Freud #Einstein #Psychology #Correspondence
![A quote which reads: “The [Women’s International League’s] wartime pacifism, though privileged, remained active, politically significant, and historically important”.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xqt5fstkzvgne5ua6idenmlj/bafkreig37emkogh3q2rqj7yirkjxlol5qga7iev5bhivfsxgyium5s7kxe)
A quote which reads: “The [Women’s International League’s] wartime pacifism, though privileged, remained active, politically significant, and historically important”.
From “‘Never Has There Been a Greater Need for Pooled Intelligence’: Maintaining International Solidarity in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, 1939-1946” by Emily Chambers
Read the full piece in Issue 9!
briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Pacifism #WWII #Archive
A quote which reads: “Fostering the idea of ecological balance as a means for promoting environmental governance and rights paves the way towards alternative models that are truly pluralistic, value a variety of knowledge systems, and see all elements of life (material, social, and spiritual) as interconnected”.
From “Solidarity and ecological balance: global perspectives on revaluing eco-human kinship” by Marta Simonetti.
Read the full piece now in Issue 9:
briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#EnvironmentalJustice #Sustainability #DeGrowth #Ubuntu #BuenVivir #Swaraj
A quote which reads: "Richardson believed that poetry was a social endeavour, one that brought people together, and that could speak for those who were misrepresented elsewhere".
From “Poet, friend and activist: Stanley Richardson and the Arden Society for Artists and Writers Exiled in England, 1938–40” by Harriet Truscott.
Read the full piece now in Issue 9!
briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Exile #SpanishCivilWar #LGBTQIA+ #Fascism #Resistance
A quote which reads: "As the routinisation of spectacular violence carries it ever closer—or even in—to the realm of the ordinary, I begin to wonder: Could there be such a thing as writing that is too beautiful? Could beauty become a valve through which a reader's affect—rapt in intrapsychic experience—is funnelled away from urgent realities of an antiBlack now?"
An extract from “Jennifer C. Nash, How We Write Now: Living with Black Feminist Theory” by Foluke Taylor.
Read the full piece now in Issue 9!
briefencounters-journal.co.uk/article/id/2...
#Feminism #BlackFeminism #BlackStudies #Loss #Writing
A photo depicting the cover art of issue 9, by Maha Gaad, taken during fieldwork for her PhD in the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, which explores how women working in handicraft workshops in urban Egypt perceive, vernacularise and experience empowerment. Taken in the Sayeda Ayesha neighbourhood of Cairo, one of Egypt’s poorest “shanti towns”, the photograph was taken on a walk between the workshop and local neighbourhood association (gam’eya), which runs a nursery for women while at the workshop. The vibrancy of the image – shown partly by the neon colours painted onto the walls – hints at the possibilities created through these workshops: of sisterhood, collective solidarity and hope.
We are delighted to announce that Issue 9 of Brief Encounters is live! Visit the link to read the full issue: briefencounters-journal.co.uk/issue/9/info/
Image: A women's handicraft workshop supervisor in Sayeda Ayesha, Cairo. Photograph by Dr Maha Gaad, 2022.
#Solidarity #Published #Phd
![An image depicting the following text: "This piece carries a deeply personal significance. I began drafting it during prolonged power outages and with little to no internet access. I vividly remember scribbling ideas on scraps of paper and typing notes on my phone, often under the echo of shelling and amidst unimaginable circumstances. Against all odds, the paper took shape, and today [16 July 2025], it’s finally out in the world.
In this article, I document my lived experience teaching university courses and leading the English Department at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza during wartime, employing methods and strategies that overcame, as much as possible, the many challenges we faced. It also tells the stories of colleagues and students who, despite destruction and isolation, chose to resist, with their voices, their words, and their will to continue learning.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xqt5fstkzvgne5ua6idenmlj/bafkreifh6dycv7av6mv4agvvqs2uif6h5itx7o43334f6yv7tfd73m5yt4)
An image depicting the following text: "This piece carries a deeply personal significance. I began drafting it during prolonged power outages and with little to no internet access. I vividly remember scribbling ideas on scraps of paper and typing notes on my phone, often under the echo of shelling and amidst unimaginable circumstances. Against all odds, the paper took shape, and today [16 July 2025], it’s finally out in the world. In this article, I document my lived experience teaching university courses and leading the English Department at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza during wartime, employing methods and strategies that overcame, as much as possible, the many challenges we faced. It also tells the stories of colleagues and students who, despite destruction and isolation, chose to resist, with their voices, their words, and their will to continue learning.
An image depicting the following text, continued from the previous image, alongside a photograph of Ahmed Kamal Junina: That is why I titled the article: 'Displaced but not replaced: challenges, adaptations, and resilience of higher education in Gaza in the context of war and scholasticide.' The article offers a close look at the deliberate and ongoing destruction of Gaza’s higher education system. I wrote it with my colleagues and students in mind. These are the people who continue to teach and learn under bombardment, in classrooms reduced to rubble or scattered across displacement camps. This is for them. For all those who remind us, even in the darkest of times, that the pursuit of knowledge in Gaza endures and cannot be silenced.
Dr Junina kindly shared the following introductory statement to accompany its publication. #IntellectualResistance #EducationAsResistance #VoicesFromGaza
We are proud to share Dr Ahmed Kamal Junina’s article, ‘Displaced but not replaced: challenges, adaptations, and resilience of higher education in Gaza in the context of war and scholasticide’, published in ‘Globalisation, Societies and Education’ (July 2025): doi.org/10.1080/1476....
A selected catalogue of the workshops thus far can be viewed on YouTube, alongside recordings of presentations related to Dr Junina’s own research. Please visit: www.youtube.com/@ahmedkamalj....
#AcademicSolidarity
An image which collects a series of six posters from the workshop series hosted as part of RECONNECT.
Since then, they have been welcomed to an ongoing series of workshops as part of RECONNECT – an initative which strives to restore access to education for students in Gaza, founded and led by Dr Junina since March 2025.
#EducationUnderSiege
An event poster depicting Ahmed Kamal Junina, George Clutterbuck and Millie Riddell.
On 12 April 2025, CHASE-affiliated members of the editorial team, George Clutterbuck and Millie Riddell, were kindly invited to convene with Dr Junina, and current and former members of Al-Aqsa University’s English faculty and student body, to formally announce the call for contributions.
To our peers & colleagues in Gaza: thank you for sharing your knowledge with such generosity, thank you for welcoming us into your virtual classroom and for defying continued, imminent threat so that we can convene. It is our privilege to be creating this publication with you.
#FreePalestine
The deliberate devastation of educational & healthcare infrastructure, the purposeful denial of vital resources, and continued indiscriminate bombardment have not prevented our colleagues from continuing to show beyond doubt their intellectual ambitions, strength and compassion.
#WriteToResist
A photograph depicting Dr Ahmed Kamal Junina
We are honoured to have Dr Ahmed Kamal Junina, Head of the department and Assistant Professor in Applied Linguistics, join us as guest senior editor. The special issue affirms the right to education and deepens understanding of how the academic community can respond to crisis.
#EducationAsResistance