On the 7th of October the previous year, Atef Abu Saif, a Palestinian Authority’s culture minister and renowned novelist, was in northern Gaza visiting his relatives in Jabilia refugee camp. The place he calls his childhood home was subjected to bombardment by the Israeli military as a retaliation to Hamas-driven assaults on southern Israel that occurred on the same day.
Despite his official rank allowing him the chance to seek safety in his West Bank residence, Abu Saif chose to remain with his family. He and his son Yasser, aged 15, remained amidst the escalating conflict, mirroring his actions during the Gaza War of 2014. Abu Saif documented his and Yasser’s harrowing experiences during their 85-day stint in the Gaza Strip before they managed to escape to Egypt, consumed by guilt, on December 30.
Abu Saif’s diaries are concise and compellingly poetic, tinged with the tragedy of their circumstances. His recent work, “Don’t Look Left”, doesn’t completely convey the horrifying realities Gazans have been enduring over the past five months. Nonetheless, it does present an intimate portrayal of the diverse hardships and emotional turmoil faced by a populace under enduring attack.
According to Abu Saif, their survival hinges on mere accidental instances of rockets missing their mark or death passing them by. He describes life in Gaza as being on a constant deathwatch, recounting how women sleep fully dressed out of morbid anxiety that their bodies may be found among the ruins, dishonoured in death.
The conflict sees Abu Saif loss several acquaintances and family members, including his sister-in-law, her husband and the couple’s two sons. He also mourns Mohammed al-Jaja and NGO Press House Bilal Jadallah, to whom he dedicates the book.
“Don’t Look Left” is unavoidably partial, as Abu Saif left Gaza prior to the further deterioration of the humanitarian crisis there. Nonetheless, it serves as a crucial account of the conflict, albeit a stark and upsetting narrative, even in a conflict as thoroughly covered as this one, and sometimes inaccurately reported.