Refaat Alareer: A Symbol of Resilience in Palestinian Literature
Dr. Refaat Alareer, born on September 23, 1979, and martyred on December 6, 2023, was a prominent Palestinian academic, writer, and poet from the Gaza Strip, known as a “pioneer of the English language.” He was renowned for his dedication to teaching literature and creative writing at the Islamic University of Gaza and was a leading figure in establishing the “We Are Not Numbers” project. This initiative aimed to highlight the suffering of Gazans and promote the power of storytelling as a tool of resistance. His Twitter account ‘Refaat in Gaza’, followed by nearly 95,000 people, served as an important and occasionally humorous source of information about Gaza, reflecting the resilience and spirit of its people.
Refaat lived a life full of challenges under the occupation, witnessing the loss of his loved ones in successive wars on Gaza, including the 2014 war where his brother and several members of his wife’s family were killed. Despite these hardships, Refaat courageously continued his academic and literary journey, earning higher degrees and contributing to the literary field with works that authentically and deeply addressed the Palestinian reality.
Through his academic and literary work, Refaat aimed to restore power to the Palestinian community by empowering oral narratives and documenting Palestinian tales, emphasizing the importance of stories in asserting the right to land and identity. He believed that the stories Palestinians tell are their weapon against the occupation and a tool to preserve their cultural and historical heritage.
Refaat Alareer and his family were martyred during the Israeli airstrikes on December 6, 2023, in a tragic event that embodies the suffering of the Palestinian people and highlights the heavy toll of war. He had published the poem “If I Must Die,” which left a profound impact and was translated into more than 40 languages, ending it with a message of hope and determination for life and resistance to future generations.
If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story
to sell my things
to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail)
so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze—
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh
not even to himself—
sees the kite, my kite you made,
flying up above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale.
Refaat Alareer