Saurini

The 2014 war on Gaza lasted 51 days and claimed 2,251 lives. Of these, 551 were children's lives. Children, in Gaza, are quite literally everywhere, their exuberance impossible to contain, their curiosity unstoppable and their resilience unimaginable. When on a day of ceasefire towards the end of the war UNRWA hosted a public wedding ceremony in the local primary school in Shati refugee camp, they turned up in droves.

Many were already living in the school, which like most UNRWA schools had become a refugee camp hosting families displaced from the heavily hit border areas. In the mayhem of the wedding, their little hands reached out to me and my camera and their little voices shouted 'Saurini, saurini' ('Take my picture').

Sweaty, tired but immensely happy to be out again, one after the other they positioned themselves in front of my camera, content to look at their frozen selves on the screen for a just a few seconds and then running off to the next adventure. Today, one and a half year after the war, it is estimated that 51% of Gaza children, are still dealing with the effects of PTSD, and they do so, experts point out, not 'post' the trauma but while the trauma is ongoing. 'Saurini' is a homage to the kids, both alive and dead, whom I met in Gaza throughout July and August 2014.