Every time I could return to Gaza, feelings of frustration, sadness and anxiety came over me, especially in the first days. So much had changed for the worse in my absence ! As my city gradually deteriorated, I was torn between my desire to stay (to hold on to it) and to leave.

Gaza is not “beautiful”. It is a city of worksites and rubble. Most of the old remnants are gone, stalls selling goods imported from China pack the sidewalks and Israeli raids have wiped out the infrastructure, but photographing my city has always been important to me. Being born in Gaza, as well as other reasons I cannot explain, certainly nurtures my fascination with the place. I want to record my daily life the way others keep a journal. Perhaps that is unconsciously a way to resist being worn down. Whenever I go out to photograph, I draw up a kind of inventory, a memory, capturing every instant and immortalizing every living parcel of my city.