Fragments of Being
A collection of five personal essays detailing what remains of life in Gaza for those that still possess “the radical hope of living.” Bound to an incomplete existence, where loved ones and locations vanish in an instant becoming fragments of memory and longing, the author fills in the gaps and chasms with words of remembrance. Illustrations create a whimsical continuity to these essays, previously published separately by a variety of media outlets.
Editions: English
Letter to the Reader
Dearest Reader,
This zine is titled “Fragments of Being” because what remains to us Palestinians, under constant erasure, are fragments– memories that refuse to disappear. These pages gather pieces of lives interrupted—family members, friends, teachers—people who lived fully, loved deeply, and were taken too soon by an occupation that makes our existence provisional.
The words you hold are acts of remembrance and defiance. They speak of grief that does not quiet, of envy for the dead, of pride in those who resisted, and of the unbearable weight of survival. They insist that Palestinians are not abstractions or headlines, but human beings whose inner worlds matter as much as their deaths are politicized.
To read these stories is to bear witness. To sit with them is to accept our discomfort, anger, and tenderness all at once. These fragments do not seek pity; they demand recognition. They ask you to see how life itself is contested here,and how, despite everything, it persists.
If these words stay with you, let them honor those who could not finish their sentences, whose lives were interrupted mid-thought, mid-dream. Let them stand beside those who continue to write, not because survival is assured, but because testimony itself has become a way of resisting disappearance.
With Memory as Resistance,
Khaled Al-Qershali
Images and Text
Request for Recognition
Gaza has been under an intellectual embargo for decades. We ask members of the literary community to lend the strength of their voices to our authors. This zine has yet to receive words of recommendation. If you are an established author willing to read and recommend this zine, email us at coastallinespress@gmail.com to receive a digital or hard copy.
About the Author
Khaled Al-Qershali is an ambitious Palestinian writer, poet, and journalist from Gaza. He holds a BA in English Language and Literature from the Islamic University of Gaza.
Khaled was a student of Dr. Refaat Alareer, whom Israel killed. For Khaled, writing is a mean to express what he feels and believes and to portray a minute image of what he is going through and experiencing.
He has contributed to The Independent, The Electronic Intifada, Palestine Nexus, and The National Scotland.
Khaled is the author of Echoes of Survival, illustrated by Elena Wa and Maria Ahmed, and Fragments of Being, illustrated by Esther Pâquerette.
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