Most of the poems written by me that are included in this book, I wrote as a teenager, there are some newer poems to, but a lot of the poems I wrote during the darkest most difficult times in my life; as a child I found writing poems very therapeutic; it helped me a lot, and I hope my words are able to touch other people and help them to.
Mohammad's poems are about his difficulties to, living in Gaza / Palestine, and all the things he's had to survive during his short life. The reason why myself and Mohammad decided to do the poetry book together, was because Mohammad knew how personal my poems were to me, and I didn't feel comfortable or confident enough to release such personal and painful past memories by myself; but Mohammad understood how important it is to let go of the past, so he offered to help me let go of my past, by holding my hand and sharing our work together; he didn't want me to feel or be alone.
The book 'Hope' isn't just a book, we are hoping to turn it into a project and a series of books. This first edition is being sold exclusively through Amazon, and there will be a second edition released next year; but the second edition won't just feature work by myself and Mohammad, it will also feature lots of other Gazan / Palestinian writers, and hopefully it will become an annual poetry book, featuring work by Mohammad and other Palestinian writers only. I am only involved in the early stages to help launch the project.
Myself and Mohammad are also trying to see if we can find businesses and people to bring investment into Gaza, and help some of the good projects that are already running in Gaza, that help improve the lives of the people living in Gaza. We believe that the best way to help Gaza, is to help the Gazan's help themselves. Nobody knows how to help Gaza better than the Gazan's.
