Basman Elderawi, 32,
poet, writer and physiotherapist

Street view in Gaza. Basman took this shot when he was on his way home from work.

Basman is the first to be featured a second time on our documentary blog Window Talks. The last time we literally zoomed into each other’s lives was in May 2020 when most of us have just come out of the very first lockdown. I remember that we were full of hope and energy – and discussed home made banana bread - while now the world around us has become bleak and chaotic.
Basman and I meet just a few days after a mob stormed the US Capital building in Washington DC and Israel announced that it has vaccinated around 20 percent of its population and basically won the world record in speed vaccination. In Gaza on the other hand vaccines aren’t available. According to the “Independent” Israel refused a request from the Word Health Organisation, WHO, to make Covid-19 vaccines available to Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank citing shortages for their own citizens. That has given rise to the term “medical apartheid” among Palestinians. “People in Gaza are scared of what tomorrow is going to be like”, says Basman. “And they are angry – but then again - they expected it.”

“Basman refuses to dwell in misery. He insists on focusing on hope instead and wrote ”Around the end of every Year”, a beautiful poem exclusively for Window Talks.”

In Gaza there still are hundreds of new infections daily but just a limited number of tests so that only those aged 50 and older get tested and those with symptoms. During the weekends, on Fridays and Saturdays, there is a complete lockdown. For the rest of the week the authorities have issued a semi-lockdown between 6pm and 6 am. As café and restaurant owners don’t get any financial compensation they are allowed to work on a delivery system. The health system is fragile and electricity, as usual, is available just for a few hours a day. But Basman refuses to dwell in misery. He insists on focusing on hope instead. Hope for 2021, a better New Year. He wrote Around the end of every Year, a beautiful poem exclusively for Window Talks. You find it below the interview. It will warm your heart.

Last time I asked you what you see when you look out of the window you mentioned the Square of the Unknown Soldier. What do you see today?
There is no change of my window. I still hope.
But yes, if I turn my head and look out of the other window of my sitting room I see the neighboring buildings and the coast. Well, I don’t really see the ocean but I see that faint line where the sky touches the sea. It’s Saturday today so we have a complete lockdown. The streets are empty. Gaza is like a ghost town right now. On other days when you see people moving you know you are alive.

What did you have for breakfast?
Pita bread, some goat cheese and black tea.

What do you miss the most?
Being outside with my friends. And I miss being outside of Gaza.

What has become your most important object?
My headphones. I listen to a lot of music. Right now I am crazy about the song “Sine from above” by Lady Gaga and Elton John.

When do you start working in the morning?
At 7:30. My shift at the clinic ends at around 2:30 pm.

Basman, let’s just take a quick look back to 2020: Is there anything positive you will tell your children about that year one day?
I will tell them that I was able to be with around my family. And we all survived. That’s a gift.

In how far has 2020 changed you?
I got older (he laughs). And the subjects of my writing have changed. Now I write much more about Covid – and about hope. I am grateful that I am still able to put ideas on paper.

In the last post on Window Talks you said that the virus isn’t as scary as drones and bombs as it creates less noise. What do you think about this now?
With the increase of the number of deaths due to the virus they are both equally scary. Yet - still nothing can beat a sudden bombing. It shakes the hell out of you. Just like an earthquake.

“Hope isn’t easy here in Gaza, but we still cling to it.”

What’s the current pulse of the people in Gaza?
It’s still very strong. People try to go on with their lives, to follow their routines and to use Facebook to express and spread their feelings. And we joke a lot.

About what?
Right now about what happened in the US. During all these years Trump has strived to present himself as THE democratic president. And now what?

What do you think?
Seeing Trump talking about democracy is like seeing a lion eating a grass. He has never been democratic. And not accepting the American people's choice after the election proves what he really is: never democratic.

How does that influence your view on democratic processes? Or better: On leadership?
I know democracy can be a wide term. Yet for me, democracy means to respect people and their choices, to respect each other's opinion and ensure freedom of expression. That's the kind of democracy I want to see in Gaza and elsewhere.

Is there anything that has become different in Gaza?
There are no more wedding parties. Well, at least no big ones any longer. Before the pandemic there used to be between 300 and 700 guests at wedding parties, according to how big the family is.

Uff…
Yes, we have big families here. And never forget all the friends as well. Nowadays there are just a handful of guests. Thus, the parties have become less expensive. That’s a good thing.

“We are all challenged to find the balance between hope and hopelessness.”

You work as a physiotherapist specialized in muscoloskeletal injuries in an outpatient clinic. What do your patients suffer from the most?
Low back pain.

What fills you with awe?
To see how people are able to adjust to new circumstances. Here in Gaza - but also worldwide. I think it’s amazing.

Well, do we have an option?
No really. But you see, hope isn’t easy here in Gaza, but we still cling to it. However, hope is ambivalent. Hope can be as painful as hopelessness. It hurts us if things don’t work out as we have wanted them to.

“I love to think I was created for a special purpose - even if I still haven’t found out what that could be. ”

And that again is a global phenomenon.
Sure. We are all challenged to find the balance between hope and hopelessness. To be realistic.

Horribly difficult.
Yes, it's difficult and challenging to keep that balance. Because hope is multifactorial: It depends on the atmosphere, the economy, the social environment, on the people and even the weather or anything else around you. All this can play hide and seek with your hope.

Okay, so what’s do to to keep hope as a good friend?
I am not sure if I am good at giving advice but I always tell myself: “Even if you are not going to change everything around you, you can still try to do what you can do and what you believe in. Do something you love: Sing, write, hang out with friends and family. Do something new or unfamiliar.” Beyonce said in her song “Ego”: “I love to think I was created for special purpose.” Well - so do I. Even with all my setbacks, my questions and struggles I love to think I was created for a special purpose - even though I still haven’t found out what that could be.

Around the End of every Year

Around the end of every year,
I ask myself;
What are your new year's resolutions?
Yet this year is different
I stand, take a deep breath
Whisper to myself,
"I have survived, I am grateful."
Even though I didn't achieve
Most of my 2020 resolutions.
Even though I spent it at home
But warm with my family and
My cup of hot tea.

Our faces are still covered
With masks.
Between the total lockdown
At the weekend and the semi one
For the rest of the week, you can
See young sellers next to their cart.
Taxi drivers sit at their cabs, hard
To recognize whether they smile, grin,
Laugh or cry.

Yet at the last tik tok of the clock
Of the 2020
You hear the "Wohoo" from every window,
Renewing the hope again,
For something to change,
For a better and safer year,
For wishes that try to flow into
One's arteries to settle inside
A heart.

Yet I still want to write more,
Read more,
Maybe write a song.
I want to learn to play guitar.
I want to have my own book.
I want to get a scholarship,
Travel and study.
I want to lose weight yet I am almost
Out of lyrics to write my bad romance
With food.

Based on true stories,
I build a positive attitude
Towards years with odd numbers
I travelled in both 2013 and 2019.
Also, as all assaults happened over
Gaza in years with even number,
I build a negative one towards these
Years.
Still it's ridiculous but can't get out of it.
Now, without questions,
2020 wasn't my best year or
Even close.
Yet I still can say, Thank you!
It teaches me something
I guess it teaches us all.

Because of 2020,
I learn how to appreciate more,
A moment with my family
A poem or a song,
My cup of hot tea.
The gift of being outdoors,
Our hugs and shake hands
It teaches me as long as
You're alive, you can still enjoy.