As part of the Gaza Project, youth from Gaza and Tromsø shared their experiences being in lockdown with us. We asked them how their lives have been affected by COVID-19 and the following lockdown both in Gaza and in Tromsø, and they shared their honest, sometimes raw, and insightful remarks on the situation they have been through. These texts were written in the course of March 2020.

Today we hear from Hala, a young student in Gaza.

How is the pandemic affecting your daily life?

It changes my whole lifestyle. Now I have to care more about the hygiene and my immune system by eating foods that contain a large amount of vitamin C mainly. In addition to all of that, staying at home is something horrible and of course home schooling makes it worse and worse. Let’s move on to the bright side, I have time to read and draw now! Moreover, spending time with my family is the best part of the day.

How do you feel towards the current locking down, disconnecting and interconnectedness?

Actually, we’re required to make sure not to get the infection, but we should also try to find a way to spend time and learn something new.

How do you see the future after all this?

If I said that it’s the end of the world, I will be so hopeless and pessimistic, so I think that this will pass hardly and it’s a challenge that we will all face. All we can do now is to care more and to try as much as we can to protect ourselves from COVID-19. This is a virus war, so after it, there would be damage and a miserable situation that will require years to return everything as it was.

Write a text/story/photo essay that reflect your experience during this time.

These tough days taught me to be well-organized, to be caring about others, to open my mind to many things and to try to know more about every little detail of this virus. I am not afraid for myself at all, but unfortunately, I’m afraid that my mom is still working at HC so getting infected is extremely possible, I wish if we could only stay at home without that daily fear. May god bless us all from this harsh time.

Text by Hala Mohamed Abunahla

Find out more about the Gaza Project here!

My Lockdown Life: Hala Mohamed Abunahla / Gaza Project