Founder of the We Are Not Alone and HeART of Gaza Projects, Gaza genocide survivor, art therapy PhD candidate at Parma University, Italy.
Mohammed’s Story
Mohammed grew up in Deir Al-Balah with 6 six sisters, 2 brothers, 3 nephews, his mom and dad.
Always a community-oriented person, Mohammed spent his young life cherishing and spending time with his loved ones and family. Mohammed graduated from Al-Azhar University with a bachelor’s degree in english and french literature in 2018.
The violence in Gaza, that existed Mohammed’s entire life, continued from his childhood to adulthood. Without the stability required for those with liberal arts degrees to support themselves in their field, Mohammed turned to freelance work, and eventually opened a small business.
Mohammed opened Grey Cafe and ran his business for 6 months. By October 10th, 2023, three days into the genocide, the occupation army had already bombed Grey Cafe.
Although he had multiple opportunities to leave Gaza after October 2023, Mohammed chose to stay and endure the genocide in order to grow the HeART of Gaza Project and support his community, providing essentials to Palestinians in Gaza City and Deir Al-Balah.
In October 2025, Mohammed made the impossible choice to evacuate Gaza via acceptance to Parma University as a PhD candidate in art therapy research.
Mohammed, in addition to his PhD studies, travels around Italy raising awareness about the genocide in Gaza, Palestine.
“It’s so hard to be outside Gaza. I’m here in Italy because we have no choices to make. There are no decisions. I’m a body without a soul because my soul is in Gaza.”
