New Delhi: In the heart of war-torn Gaza, the voice of professor Refaat Alareer resonated with many chronicling the devastation, even as it called out to Bollywood, for the Palestinian academic, poet and writer was a fan of Indian cinema.
Professor Alareer, 44, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Shujaiya in northern Gaza last week, along with his brother, sister and four of her children. He is survived by his wife, Nusayba, and their children, according to various media reports that quoted his friends.
Alareer was mourned by several Palestinian intellectuals including poet Mosab Abu Toha, who confirmed the professor’s death on social media platform X.
Breaking, my heart is broken, my friend & colleague Refaat AlAreer was killed with his family minutes ago.
Refaat is a university professor & writer & editor.
I don’t want to believe this. We both loved to pick strawberries together. I took this photo of him this summer. pic.twitter.com/8OoZ7lN0Lq— Mosab Abu Toha (@MosabAbuToha) December 7, 2023
After his death, a social media exchange of his with an Indian-origin professor dating back to 2021 started doing the rounds, in which Alareer mentioned movies of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, saying his favourite was the 1977 film Amar Akbar Anthony.
“I wish one day I could write about Bollywood’s impact on the first Palestinian Intifada. Coolie (another Bachchan film) was particularly a hit,” he wrote.
Amar Akbar Anthony is a favourite of mine. What a beautiful movie!
I wish one day I could write about Bollywood's impact on the Palestinian first Intifada.
Coolie was particularly a hit.
— Refaat in Gaza 🇵🇸 (@itranslate123) June 20, 2021
The first Palestinian Intifada or uprising, starting 1987, was a series of protests, civil disobedience and riots carried out by Palestinians in Israel-occupied Palestinian territories over Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and ended with the signing of the Oslo Accords.
Alareer, who taught English at Islamic University of Gaza, in his social media conversation further said that his PhD superviser was an Indian who “was thrilled knowing (that) the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and (late actor) Amjad Khan had impacted us Palestinian stone-throwers in the first Intifada”.
it would be my honour.
my PhD supervisor was Indian and she was thrilled knowing the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Amjad Khan had impacted us Palestinian stone-throwers in the first Intifada, especially that her own PhD was on coolies.
— Refaat in Gaza 🇵🇸 (@itranslate123) June 20, 2021
When the Indian-origin professor mentioned that she was aware of Israel not allowing Bollywood movies in the West Bank and said she would like to know more about the impact of Bollywood beyond India, Alareer responded with enthusiasm.
Living in Gaza under Israeli bombardment after the outbreak of hostilities following the 7 October Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, Alareer documented daily life as it was on his social media account.
We are forcibly and under over 24 hours of bombardment and shelling leaving yet another place of shelter along with thousands of families. Many are still trapped in Shujayia including some of my children and family members. https://t.co/RJnOJVbXea
— Refaat in Gaza 🇵🇸 (@itranslate123) December 4, 2023
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, while around 250 people were taken hostage. Israel’s retaliatory strikes since then have reportedly killed more than 18,000 Palestinians.
According to a report in The Guardian, Alareer’s friend Mohamed Al Arair, a history teacher in Shejaiya, told AFP that the professor’s family repeatedly asked him to leave for the sake of his safety, but he always replied that “I’m only an academic, a civilian, at home. I’m not leaving”.
After Alareer’s death, his friends, the Indian-origin professor and other users have been reposting his social media posts as they collectively mourn his loss. Alareer’s last poem before his death, which he posted on X on 1 November, has particularly moved millions.
If I must die, let it be a tale. #FreePalestine #Gaza pic.twitter.com/ODPx3TiH1a
— Refaat in Gaza 🇵🇸 (@itranslate123) November 1, 2023
The poem has been translated into Urdu, Sindhi, Hindi, Malayalam and other languages on social media. It also has a Chinese and Hebrew translation, among others.
In one of his last posts on 4 December, the Palestinian professor wrote: “We are enveloped in thick layers of gunpowder and cement.”
“Many are still trapped in Shejaiya including some of my children and family members,” he wrote the same day.
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‘Vowed to throw his pen at Israeli army’
A co-founder of the ‘We Are Not Numbers’ project, Alareer sought to amplify the voices of young Palestinian writers, fostering a generation capable of narrating their own experiences. His anthologies, including Gaza Writes Back published in 2014, became platforms for Palestinians to reclaim their narrative and challenge global perceptions.
He also stirred controversy shortly after the 7 October Hamas terror attack when, in a BBC interview, he described it as “legitimate and moral” and drew parallels to the Warsaw ghetto uprising, sparking outrage among critics, The Guardian reported.
The report said Alareer’s friends described his defiance in the face of the Israeli army’s assault on the Gaza Strip, saying he had vowed to “throw (his) pen in the soldiers’ faces” as a last resort if his house was stormed.
Despite mounting danger, Alareer, along with his family, defied evacuation orders before Israel’s ground offensive in late October, choosing to remain in northern Gaza amid relentless airstrikes.
In 2022, the professor contributed to the book Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire, writing in an essay titled Gaza Asks: When Shall this Pass?: “It shall pass, I keep hoping. It shall pass, I keep saying. Sometimes I mean it. Sometimes I don’t. And as Gaza keeps gasping for life, we struggle for it to pass, we have no choice but to fight back and to tell her stories. For Palestine.”
“We know it’s very bleak, it’s very dark. There is no way out of Gaza,” Alareer had said during a panel on 9 October on a Palestinian platform called The Electronic Intifada. What sounded like air strikes could be heard in the background, forcing Refaat to pause for some seconds and continue.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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