Muhammad al-Zaqzouq's Diary of Displacement from Gaza
Muhammad al-Zaqzouq, a poet, writer, cultural organizer, and researcher born in 1990 in the Khān Yūnis refugee camp in Gaza, has been on the run with his wife ‘Ulā and their three children Barā’, Jawād, and Bāsil (ages six, four, and two) from October 15, 2023, to the end of 2024. His meticulous diary of their odyssey, titled "Scrivo per restare umano" (translated from Arabic by Andrea Puglisi, Einaudi 2026), spans two hundred pages. Al-Zaqzouq does not flee but is repeatedly displaced, moving like living creatures before forces beyond their control. He does not keep a diary in the conventional sense; he writes to govern trauma, to order thoughts and emotions, to maintain a trace of himself amid immense disorientation, and to affirm his humanity.
Key facts
- Muhammad al-Zaqzouq was born in 1990 in the Khān Yūnis refugee camp, Gaza.
- He is a poet, writer, cultural organizer, and researcher.
- He fled with his wife ‘Ulā and children Barā’, Jawād, and Bāsil (ages six, four, two).
- The displacement lasted from October 15, 2023, to the end of 2024.
- His diary 'Scrivo per restare umano' is 200 pages long.
- The book is translated from Arabic by Andrea Puglisi and published by Einaudi in 2026.
- Al-Zaqzouq writes to govern trauma and maintain a sense of self.
- The term 'flee' is rejected in favor of 'displaced' to describe his movement.
Entities
Artists
- Muhammad al-Zaqzouq
Institutions
- Einaudi
Locations
- Khān Yūnis
- Gaza