Young Gazan woman tells stories of shattered livesーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS

Gaza Conditions and the Book's Genesis [00:00]

• Dire conditions persist in Gaza, with food shortages, poor healthcare, and prolonged displacement.
• Over 73,000 Gazans have been killed since October 2023.
• A book by young Gazan woman Dina Hossam Abu Rubaya, "Gaza, Stories of a War," is gaining attention in Japan.

  The numbers are not just numbers. Each was a person with a name and a life.

Content of "Gaza, Stories of a War" [00:49]

• The book, originally written in Arabic in Gaza under bombing, recounts 12 tragic episodes from the lives of its residents.
• It features the voices of people affected by extreme violence, including children and a pediatrician who continued his work despite personal loss.
• The author, Dina Hossam Abu Rubaya, is 26 years old and was displaced by Israeli attacks.

  In Gaza, every one of us carries a story.

Writing and Displacement [02:01]

• Dina Abu Rubaya wrote the book in tents while fleeing from northern Gaza to the south.
• She used a notebook, a pen, and a small stand as a desk.
• Her motivation was to escape the reality of massacres and fear, and to ensure their stories reach the world and are preserved.

  Witnessing so many massacres, such brutality, and such fear drove me to escape that reality and decide to write a book of war stories so that our voices might reach the world and these tales be preserved throughout history.

Path to Japanese Translation [02:34]

• Gazan journalist Muhammad Mansour found Dina and wrote about her and the book for a Japanese newspaper.
• Mizokawa Takami, a graduate student, read the article and decided to translate the book into Japanese.
• The translation process faced a delay when Mansour, who had Dina's contacts, was killed in an Israeli attack.

  Her voice was heard.

Translation Challenges and Choices [03:42]

• Dina is not a professional writer, and the book is bluntly written to express anger.
• The translator, Mizokawa Takami, chose to convey harsh and graphic language faithfully to reflect the reality of Gazans.
• Translator's notes were added to help readers understand the context and cultural nuances.

  I chose to keep them the way they are. It didn't feel right to change them just to suit our convenience and preference.

Publication and Reception in Japan [04:57]

• The Japanese translation was released by a small publishing house in Tokyo with an initial print run of 3,000 copies.
• The book is selling steadily across Japan and online.
• Readers are reportedly moved by the vivid accounts and feel that such injustice must not be tolerated.

  So, readers seem to come away feeling that such injustice must not be tolerated. And asking themselves what they can do.

Personal Stories and Future Work [05:42]

• The book includes a story about a mother who lost her newborn twins and husband in an airstrike.
• Dina herself became a mother one year after finishing the book.
• She plans to write a new book telling her own story of getting married and giving birth in a tent during the war.

  I got married in a tent and gave birth to a baby in a tent.

Ongoing Crisis and Call to Action [06:37]

• Casualties continue to mount in Gaza, and people remain trapped in inhuman conditions.
• Dina's book poses the question, "World, where are you?"
• The author is determined to preserve the voices of Gazan people for future generations, urging a response to their plight.

  Each Gazan has their own life and own stories. There are things that we are able to understand only through hearing their voices.