Beyond numbers and headlines: Preserving Palestinian identity with storytelling

Doha, Qatar: We are not numbers. We are not faceless victims. We are people with stories, families, and dreams just like anyone else. This is the...

Doha, Qatar: “We are not numbers. We are not faceless victims. We are people with stories, families, and dreams just like anyone else.”

This is the message at the heart of Mo’men Ghanim’s work and the reason why his films, recently screened at Qatar National Library during 'The Power of Visual Storytelling for Palestine', hit so deeply. A Doha-based Palestinian filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist, Ghanim has dedicated his career to humanising people too often reduced to headlines, death tolls, or political talking points.

The event marked the debut of three original short documentaries by Ghanim, each focusing on survivors from Gaza who were medically evacuated to Qatar. These weren’t just testimonies of tragedy, but were deeply personal stories of resilience, identity, and dignity. 

“I wanted to move beyond the numbers and share the human side of Gaza. Each film gives voice to a person who might otherwise be lost in the noise,” he told The Peninsula.