WRITING PROMPTS TO SUPPORT CHILDREN IN GAZA
UNICEF reports that in Gaza, “hundreds of thousands of children and families are caught in a catastrophic situation” and that, as of November 1st 2023, over 3500 children have been killed and more than 6000 have been injured “due to unrelenting attacks”, while a thousand others are missing. Outlining the charity’s Appeal for Children in Gaza, UNICEF spokesman James Elder explains: “Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children. It’s a living hell for everyone else.” Elder has also called for “children held hostage in Gaza [to] be immediately reunited with their families and loved ones”. Recent updates state that “hundreds of thousands of children … remain trapped in a war zone with little or no access to food, water, electricity, medicine or medical care”.
For the duration of NaNoWriMo 2023, we will be posting a writing prompt every day and in doing so, we encourage our community to donate to charities providing medical aid to children in desperate need in this unprecedented crisis. These prompts have been created by writers from Wales or with a connection to Wales and its magazines and presses. The prompts are on all kinds of subjects, but many are related to anti-violence and the work of empathy, and they are offered with the simple hope that they might encourage people to donate in support of medical aid in Gaza. We include a list of suggested charities to donate to below, highlighting the Appeal for Children in Gaza.
UNICEF “continues to call for an immediate ceasefire as 1.1 million people — nearly half of them children — in northern Gaza have been warned to move out of the way of a widescale military assault, but with nowhere safe for them to go”. Elder concludes: “The humanitarian situation has reached lethal lows, and yet all reports point to further attacks. Compassion – and international law – must prevail.”
Please see the list of suggested charities at the end of the post. A new prompt will be posted until at least the end of November 2023.
DAY 2: SARA ABOU RASHED
A Map of You
Write a map of yourself. Thinking of all the places you’ve been, traveled, lived, studied, laughed, cried, loved, hurt—which would you include in the list of places that made you you? What have you felt while there? These places could be countries, but also cities, little towns, neighborhoods, hidden alleys, street corners, park benches. Places big or small, known, or familiar to only you. Try to capture the atmosphere and essence of each place and how you have carried it with you, elsewhere. Where does it live in your body? In what shape or color or size? Think of the piece you’re writing truly as a map guiding us to discover you. You may find a “tour guide” voice or list form most useful and objective, or for a more intimate journey, pretend you’re giving directions to a friend or lover to further explore you.
Also see Sara Abou Rashed’s poem ‘From the Sky’ published in POETRY magazine on Nov 1st.
Please consider donating to a charity providing medical aid in Gaza. We recommend UNICEF’s Appeal for Children in Gaza, but other charities include:
Palestine Children’s Relief Fund
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