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A bag of corn and a movie! Amidst the horrors of war, Gaza is providing oxygen to Jane G
Sandy Verma | August 26, 2026 9:24 PM CST

For three years they saw almost nothing but war. They lost their homes in the bombs. He saw the playground turning into an army camp before his eyes. School, classes, coaching – all of them are over. In this dark daily routine, their 'du'danda shanti' is a thonga of corn and a movie, cartoon or a game playing on the silver screen. It is said about the war-torn Gaza. Movies in Gaza! Are you thinking that this is an illusion? But the word is there, the truth is more wonderful than imagination. And so one 'cinema day' a week in the war-torn Gaza Strip. Free popcorn with ticket. Leaving 'real life' from the dreaded daily life, teenagers dive into 'real life.' They say, “It's like going to another world.”

War-torn Gaza, Photo: Collected

14-year-old daughter Natalie Al Hatum. They had their own homes in the Remal area of ​​Gaza. But after they were destroyed in the war, they now live together in a one-room flat in central Gaza. One day of the week is his day of great joy. Natalie wakes up early and calls her mother 'Tata' and goes out. He went straight to the camp of a voluntary organization called 'Der El Balah'. How many other children like him gather in the same attraction. His name is Sinema. That attraction is difficult for most of the common people to avoid. Natalie and her friends were given a ticket each, along with a bag of popcorn. No, watching this movie in Gaza is not like the multiplex we used to see. A few plastic chairs and an old television set in front. It sometimes plays a movie, sometimes a cartoon, sometimes a game. The soft minds that have just stepped into adolescence spend an hour in that.

In Natalie's words, “I love watching movies. Because, it is the only thing that changes our environment. It seems that we are not in a war, we are not in a difficult time anymore. In fact, this war, losing our home, has given me such a big emotional shock that I cannot forget it. I remember again and again, about my cousins. How much I used to play with them, talk, stay together. They all died during the war, only my family remains.”

A little life outside the relief camp for Gazan women, Photo: Collected

In Natalie's words, “I love watching movies. Because, it is the only thing that changes our environment. It seems that we are not in a war, we are not in a difficult time anymore. In fact, this war, losing our home, has given me such a big emotional shock that I cannot forget it. I remember again and again, about my cousins. How much I used to play with them, talk, stay together. They all died during the war, only my family remains.”

Jehan Abu Janauna is behind the opening of this world of silver screen in front of the teenagers of Gaza. He is a psychologist for a foreign volunteer organization that is trying to recover the skeletons of Gaza that stand in the rubble. That Jehan says, “We are using the movie as a tool to erase the horrible memories from the minds of these children. Their childhood and adolescence is not like five ordinary children, it is very difficult. Every day in the camp they are surrounded by mosquitoes, intense heat and quarrels. We try to temporarily remove them from that environment, to give them a little joy. One day a week, we have arranged to show movies or cartoons. Sometimes they come here and play games. The lively smile they smile while eating popcorn is It makes us feel better. Initially, 15-20 people came, now 35-40 people come because of the word of this movie.”

Movie tickets, with free popcorn! 'Oxygen' to Gaza teenagers, Photo: Collected

Cinema is Maya's world. Those of us who are far away from the war, are just fighting a small battle of our lives, they also cling to their favorite heroes and heroines to pass the daily boredom. That time itself, and the time after that, life is not limited, but in a larger way, it seems to be very beautiful. Going back to the cinema again and again to get a touch of that beauty. Gaza's Jane G is also turning to cinema with magnetic attraction again and again. Let their sparkling life come back like in the movie.


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