November 30, 2025

Basman Aldirawi

John Doe is a passionate poet whose work explores the depths of human emotion and experience.

Basman Aldirawi (also published under Basman Derawi) is a Palestinian physiotherapist, writer and poet from Gaza. He has contributed dozens of stories/poems to the online platform We Are Not Numbers and other platforms including ArabLit, Mondoweiss and Vivamost. He also co-authored Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire, 2022 and the Arabic poetry anthology, Gaza, the land of poetry, 2021.

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You know I have never seen Gaza from a boat inthe middle of the Mediterranean.And I am not daring enough to swallow my saliva and ask you how my house looks from a far. I can't even ask: Did you see my house?

POEMS 

With the continuity of the genocide, I keep questioning the worthiness of writing. Yet, I think of writing as a duty, a moral responsibility towards my people, my cause. In this genocide, I lost a sister with her family, best friends and colleagues. They deserve for the names and stories to be heard.

INTERVIEW 

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Raphael Jenkins

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