GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — On a hilltop in the Shajaiya neighborhood in the eastern part of Gaza City, which was extensively damaged by the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip in July-August 2014, lives Ansam Raed Saleh al-Wadiya. The teenager has turned the walls of her house into murals in an expression of her emotions and imagination, attracting visitors despite the piles of stone and rubble they must pass in the streets to get there.
The eyes of Ansam, 16, show hope and strength, and her paintings carry the viewer to a world of peace and calm. She has worked on the murals for many long nights, and spent much time creating the drawings that she included in her painting booklet and on the walls of Dalal al-Mughrabi High School. The walls of her house are covered in about 20 paintings each, which include architectural shapes, nature scenes and cartoon characters.
She told Al-Monitor, “I started drawing on walls after the Israeli warplanes shelled our house two years ago. I tried to find a place to shelter my dreams through painting. I could not find it in Gaza, and I decided to realize my dreams between the rubble and sand, and transform our house into a [giant] painting that everyone would visit.”
Despite the tough economic situation — due to rising unemployment and lack of job opportunities that have taken a toll on Ansam’s family of 12 — her mother, Sahar, is her biggest supporter. She gave Ansam her painting kit to help her develop her skills and keep her dreams alive through drawing.
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