RAFIF ESLEEM

Gaza- Raghda Taym Sheikh Al-Eid, an artist in Gaza, is determined to pursue her art although she has lost her home, workshop, paintings and all painting materials; she depicts the suffering of her people, the war, famine by using black soot on the bottom of empty pots as a pencil.

Since the first day of the war that started in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, she has been portraying the tragedy experienced by her people. She has drawn the forced displacement, the lack of medicine and food, diseases and severe humanitarian conditions in the enclave.

She used to portray joy, nature and musical instruments before the start of the war; however, she now portrays ruins, prisoners, displacement, tents, crying women and empty pots...

‘I have lost everything’

Raghda Taym Sheikh Al-Eid thinks what she does is a moral responsibility. “I cannot stop painting. I must make the voice of those who are left hungry heard,” said Raghda Taym Sheikh Al-Eid, who shares her artworks on social media platforms. “I had two houses and turned one of them into a workshop. However, I have lost everything. Now, I take shelter in a tent. I am not just hungry, I'm starved.”

Her aim is to make the voices of women heard

Speaking about the blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip, she said, “I do not have any painting materials due to the Israeli blockade. Israel blocks the entry of food and medicine.” She told us that nothing could stop her until she would be killed in an Israeli strike. When a bullet hit her tent recently, she felt as if she was “chained” because she did not die. So, she left her painting unfinished. When she shared her feelings on her social media account, her followers told her to be patient and finish the painting. Before the war, her aim was to go abroad to develop her talent but now her aim is to make the voice of Palestinian women heard all around the world.

Raghda Taym Sheikh Al-Eid called on all female artists in Gaza to keep producing no matter what happens. Although she does not have any painting materials, she never gives up painting; she depicts the suffering of her people, the war, famine in Gaza by using black soot on the bottom of empty pots as a pencil.