DECEMBER 7, 2023 — Author, editor, translator, and educator Refaat Alareer reportedly died today in an airstrike on his sister’s home that also killed his brother, sister, and her four children, according to multiple reports.
In a remembrance thread on Twitter, author Muhammad Shehada writes, “He was full of energy, life & humour. He loved Chicago Pizza, cats, history, classic music, theatre, poetry & Harry Potter.”
Poet Mosab Abu Toha wrote, also on Twitter, “Breaking, my heart is broken, my friend & colleague Refaat AlAreer was killed with his family minutes ago. Refaat is a university professor & writer & editor. I don’t want to believe this. We both loved to pick strawberries together. I took this photo of him this summer.”
A native of Gaza City’s Shijaieh neighborhood, Alareer studied comparative literature in London and Malaysia and taught literature and creative writing at the Islamic University of Gaza. He was editor of the 2014 collection Gaza Writes Back and co-editor of Gaza Unsilenced, and contributed to the Haymarket Books collection Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire, which imagines a future Gaza.
His pinned tweet from November 1, 2023 was a farewell poem:
If I must die, let it be a tale. #FreePalestine #Gaza pic.twitter.com/ODPx3TiH1a
— Refaat in Gaza 🇵🇸 (@itranslate123) November 1, 2023
There is a vigil scheduled for Prof Refaat al-Areer on Friday, December 8 in Washington Square Park, 7:30 p.m., at the arch.
Also: Storytelling and survival in Gaza: An interview with “Light in Gaza” contributor Refaat Alareer.