In the Jabaliya displaced persons camp in Gaza, Shireen al-Kurdi found in doll making an answer to two emergencies: escaping the poverty that threatens her family and offering some comfort to children scarred by an endless war .
A mother of five, she lives in a strip of land ravaged by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where famine and deprivation are a daily struggle. " The idea came to me when toys disappeared from the markets," she explains. "With almost nothing, I started creating simple dolls to sell at an affordable price. After years of war, families in Gaza can no longer afford expensive toys."
Each doll earns her $10, a modest sum but vital for providing for her family. However, her biggest challenge remains sourcing wool, rare and precious in a region where everything is scarce. In her tent, surrounded by crochet hooks, needles, and balls of colorful yarn, Shireen displays her creations: dolls inspired by cartoon characters, brightly colored crocheted cakes—all little handmade joys.
I work in extreme conditions, without light, without the bare necessities. Yet, I spend 14 to 18 hours a day, sometimes more, making these dolls. No one believes how many hours it takes, but handcrafted work is time-consuming.
In Gaza, where market stalls are empty and basic necessities are nowhere to be found, artists like Shireen must constantly innovate and improvise to continue creating and resisting.
