Amid the widespread devastation in Palestine, even as Israel threatens to conquer Gaza City, some stories of hope seep through as a testament to the Palestinian’s resilience.
Renad Atallah, an 11-year-old Palestinian, is a content creator — an influencer who makes videos to raise awareness about the plight of children starving in Gaza. With dreams of opening a restaurant in the future, she is a chef who shoots cooking reels, with a “will to create the things she loves, even in the toughest times.”
International organizations such as Amnesty and the World Health Organization have repeatedly said Israel continues to restrict aid, and the United Nations recently officially declared famine in Gaza.
In these conditions, perhaps most striking is the name of her creations: War chips, famine’s bread, famine’s Labneh.
Three days ago, she posted a black slide with one simple, yet ominous, word — Goodbye.
At the young age of 11, Renad is an ambassador of Human Concern International Canada (HCIC). As families go without proper food for months, and line up for hours on end for any sort of nutrition, Renad took it upon herself to act.
She worked to not just find food for herself, but to feed a thousand other mouths, and bring hope to people deprived of basic necessities. In a post that tells a lot about the starkly different realities of Palestinian children, Renad shot an unboxing video — only it wasn’t toys or clothes, but rice and oil.
The young girl set up a donation link with HCI, and partnered with other food creators, to help raise money and aid; just last week, she showcased the aid that came through into Gaza after “4 months of deprivation and hunger.”
As her followers waited for any communication, on Saturday, Renad came back to Instagram with a photo and a short yet powerful caption: “A genocide survivor.”
The photo was taken in Netherlands, which meant Renad had been able to leave Palestine and join her sister Nourhan Attallah; however, their mother and brothers remain in Gaza, according to Nourhan on social media.
Renad’s post was immediately flooded with an outpouring of love, as followers rejoiced at her safety, and shared sorrow at the plight of children having to leave their homeland to live a good life.
Among the commenters was the family of Ahmed, an 8-year-old farmer in Gaza. Read the Khaleej Times report to know how Ahmed rescues animals and documents the destruction in Gaza.
The comment, made through an account run by his father and sister, said: “Tears of pure joy are streaming down my face. I’m overjoyed that you made it through, and as you always say, children deserve nothing more than to just be children.”
