After losing an eye, Gaza artist overcomes trauma through her art

From her Bureij camp home, she sketches on walls, expressing grief, strength and endurance

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Areej al-Saafin, who lost her eye as a result of an Israeli military strike, holds a piece of wood charcoal as she prepares to draw on the wall of her home in the Bureij Palestinian refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
Areej al-Saafin, who lost her eye as a result of an Israeli military strike, holds a piece of wood charcoal as she prepares to draw on the wall of her home in the Bureij Palestinian refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
AFP

Dubai: After losing an eye in an Israeli military strike, Gaza artist Areej al-Saafin is turning trauma into expression. From her home in the Bureij refugee camp, she creates charcoal drawings on the walls, reflecting pain, resilience and survival.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,221 people. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has since killed at least 72,600 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, with the United Nations considering the figures reliable. Much of Gaza’s 2.4 million population has been displaced, as artists like Saafin continue documenting loss through their work.

Devadasan K P is the Chief Visual Editor at Gulf News, bringing more than 27 years of experience in photojournalism to the role. He leads the Visual desk with precision, speed, and a strong editorial instinct. Whether he’s selecting images of royalty, chasing the biggest celebrity moments in Dubai, or covering live events himself, Devadasan is always a few steps ahead of the action. Over the years, he has covered a wide range of major assignments — including the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, feature reportage from Afghanistan, the IMF World Bank meetings, and wildlife series from Kenya. His work has been widely recognised with industry accolades, including the Minolta Photojournalist of the Year award in 2005, the Best Picture Award at the Dubai Shopping Festival in 2008, and a Silver Award from the Society for News Design in 2011. He handles the newsroom pressure with a calm attitude, a quick response time, and his signature brand of good-natured Malayali humour. There's no fuss — just someone who gets the job done very well, every single time.

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