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Tamam Abusalama

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Palestinian children impacted by the war attend a group class as part of the United Nations community mental health programs in Gaza on August 2, 2014 in Jabalia in the north of Gaza. (Photo: Ezz al-Zanoun/APA Images)

On the occasion of World Mental Health Day, Tamam Abusalama reflects on Palestinians’ personal and collective trauma: “Nearly 20 years after the eruption of the Second Intifada, I still freak out each time I hear ambulance sirens and thunder, or see a soldier or a helicopter. My heart beats so fast that it takes me back to Gaza, trapped with my people and my family during war.”

Tamam Abusalama remembers leaving the Gaza Strip for the first time ten years ago. The driver made a point to take her and her mother through Beit Jirja, their original village, on the way to Jerusalem. Nothing was left of the village. Just agricultural fields.

Tamam Abusalama writes, “An inclusive and intersectional feminist movement should address the struggles of women in different contexts. It should also acknowledge that there are huge gaps of privileges between women in the West and in the East. It shouldn’t ignore the long-lasting impacts of colonization on women from colonized countries. It should understand that an inclusive movement would never be successful without acknowledging the main colonial, imperial and capitalist elements, differently shaping women experiences. There is hope but we have always to keep on calling for a diverse, inclusive, de-colonial and intersectional feminist movement.”

Tamam Abusalama left Gaza when she was a teenager to study in Europe, and escape the Israeli siege. Here she writes about what this has meant for her family: “I still remember as if it happened now how startling it was to see dad’s tears falling on his cheeks while hugging me when I left Gaza 6 years ago. It seems that he felt that it was our last hug and would be difficult to meet again in Gaza. And I am still unable to believe how can oppressing authorities have the power to deprive me of my right of hugging my favorite man on earth.”

As more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails launch a hunger strike on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoners Day, Tamam Abusalama recalls the combined 15 years her father spent as a prisoner. “Being a former prisoner’s daughter has instilled in me an unstoppable determination to break all borders and limits. I struggle against everything that violates my freedom and that of my people.”

Tamam Abusalama writes, “We, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, have been suffering from a slow death sentence for a long time. We are being punished collectively for no reason, without any crime. The Egyptian and Jordanian authorities in cooperation with the Israeli colonial regime have been successful at turning the life of Gazans into hell. This injustice has to come to an end. A resolution for this siege has to come.”

Taman Abusalama grew up in Gaza and is currently studying in Turkey. She writes, “Whenever I talk to Mama via skype, she asks me “When are you coming to Gaza? I’m missing you”. My Dad replies “We do miss you Baba, but don’t come. We don’t want you to live the same tensive experience you had in Rafah border last time”. I can’t hold my tears in such moments.”