Unbreakable

Dalia's photo taken at the hospital. 1st August 2014

Dalia Khalifa was 9 years old when she was sitting at home last summer in her living room when her home was hit by an Israeli attack in the Zaytoun area. She was rushed to Gaza's Shifa hospital where she was with many other people who had suffered similar if not worse attacks. Her sister lay crying screaming to her "I love you" but Dalia didn't know what was going on until she later recovered. Her sisters injuries were even worse penetrating her skull.

A photo journalist was there named Mohamed Asad who took the now famous photo of her, naming it "Assiyat al Damea" which translate freely to "the one that does not cry" but in English it was just "unbreakable".

This photo that was taken, became the Grand Jury winner of a photography competition that happens to be organised but the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs in the Middle East and North Africa (OCHA).

Dalia today, recovering with scars of the war.

She is beautiful and unrelenting showing courage in a generation that knows only war and hardships, but her character proves unbreakable and while withstanding insurmountable hardships in Gaza.

My she always be courageous and unbreakable. 

With Love, From Palestine