The vloggers of Gaza

The “algorithm” has become a strange entity that lives with us, inside our phones. We have come to accept the existence of the algorithm by the sheer circumstantial evidence that surrounds it. The marked drop in story views of anything concerning Palestine, the invisibility of notifications from people actively posting about Palestine, and so on. However, the algorithm, like any technological “thing” (for lack of a better term), is a double edged sword. For one, the younger generation of Gazans enduring the ongoing genocide have managed to use the algorithm in their favour.

These vloggers mostly seem to be either kids, teens, or in their early 20s at the latest, who simply post about their everyday lives in the midst of devastation and famine. One such creator, Mohamed Al Khalidi, posted a reel that went viral, captioned “We live proudly in the tent”, doing Tik Tok-like transitions of a day in his life in a refugee tent in Rafah. As of the time of writing, the reel has received almost 950,000 likes on Instagram. Some of Mohamed’s other reels seem aimed at making the best out of the situation, such as “Tall guy problems in a tent” where he shows himself walking around the refugee camp, bowing his head to avoid tent frames, and other random items hanging in mid-air, like a laundry line.

The more I watch these reels, the more awestruck I am at the immense optimism, the blinding light that shines from the Strip. On 11 June, Mohamed shared that his 15-year-old brother, who had appeared regularly in his videos, was killed by occupation forces who had fired indiscriminately at the tents in the “safe zone” they were in. Mohamed’s Arabic caption is more detailed than the English: “It happened suddenly, we were arguing about who would go to the bathroom first in the morning, and I was telling him ‘I’m first Zein.’ He would say, ‘No, Mohamed, I need to go first.’ So I told him to go ahead. Right as he was walking in front of me there was heavy gunfire targeting the safe zone, and a bullet hit his chest. I don’t know where it came from, random gunfire aimed at civilians and tents, many were injured and martyred, but Alhamdulillah for everything in any case.”

A reel posted the next day, titled “Life in Gaza” transitions between clips of Mohamed and Zein, or Zein by himself, walking, smiling, swiping at the camera to trigger a transition, with scenes of people trying to get Zein’s limp body to medical care, Mohamed mourning Zein’s loss, and other scenes of devastation.

It left me speechless.

One of the better known pages, the Mohammed and Omar Show as they’ve styled it, posts daily about their lives in Gaza. As of 30 June, they’d posted daily for 68 days. However, on 2 July, they explained that a bomb fell near Omar’s house, severely damaging it and endangering his family, killing other families. Omar’s family, who survived the strike, were now displaced. Mohammed and Omar’s voices saying “Day X of sharing our daily routine in a war zone” echoes in my head every time I see their reels.

Omar and Mohammed post a variety of content; how to get to the charging stations, chasing down a person they heard is making iced coffee, playing in a football championship league, finding lunch, getting haircuts and so on. Theirs is a remarkably lighthearted series that’s peppered with educational posts, such as about boycotting, or the symbolism in the kuffiyeh, and about the tragedies they encounter in their daily lives.

Fayez uses his platform to share reels of his younger brother, whom he jokes is American and born in the European Hospital in Gaza. Fayez’s brother adds humour to the reels and his desire to continue to laugh in this darkness is something that can be seen in so many of Gaza’s youth.

It remains to be seen how historians will process these reels in the future, when accounts of this genocide get compiled and preserved. However, those kids simply want to be heard, to have normal lives, and seek to achieve this normalcy in spite of what the most powerful people in the world want. Despite everything that Israel and the United States are inflicting on the people of Gaza, the children of Gaza are becoming social media influencers, surpassing some of the most aspirational Israeli and American creators, simply by posting about their lives under siege.

As Israel seeks to destroy Palestinian life, it failed to account for the indomitable spirit of Gaza.

OPINION: Death by Algorithm: Israel’s AI War in Gaza

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.