LONDON: There is a standard process for getting most books published. An author comes up with an idea, roughs out a brief outline, and sends it to their agent, who, after some back and forth, pitches it to some likely publishers.
That is not what happened with “We Are Still Here.” But then this newly published anthology of prose and poetry written by students trapped in Gaza is nothing like most books.
The idea for the book began with the narrowest of escapes from death.
Over the past two years, Al-Azhar University and the Islamic University of Gaza have both been reduced to rubble in repeated attacks by Israel.
In April 2024, with no sign of a ceasefire or a return to any kind of normality, let alone university life, academics at the universities began teaching their surviving students online.
