This is a 1:12-minute teaser for a series of video interviews with Gazans I’m releasing for my birthday.

Thoraya El-Rayyes is a writer and literary translator living in Amman, Jordan. She was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents and immigrated to Canada with her family at the age of six, although she has lived in Jordan for most of her life.

Thoraya’s English language translations of Arabic literature have appeared in various literary magazines, including World Literature Today, Cutbank, The Common, Banipal and Sukoon.

Enjoy this 50 second clip of Ghada Ageel, a teaser for a series of video interviews with Gazans.

Dr. Ghada Ageel is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta. She holds a PhD and MA in Middle East Politics from the University of Exeter (Britain) and a BA in Education from the Islamic University/Gaza. Her PhD dissertation examined the historic and contemporary role of the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) in relation to the question of a durable solution for Palestinian refugees. Dr. Ageel is the recipient of several awards and scholarships including The Phillips Grant (UK, 2013), The Jerusalem Studies’ Scholarship of the University of Exeter (2002 and 1999), the Higher Education Award of the Ministry of Education (Palestine, 1996) and the Hebrew Language and Literature Scholarship (Gaza, 1993).

Her research interests focus on rights-based approaches to forced migration, Palestinian refugees in comparative perspective, oral history, women’s studies, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the permanent status issues involved in the Middle East peace process. Dr. Ageel’s work has been widely published in several newspapers, magazines and journals worldwide, including The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The International Herald Tribune, The Hill, CNN, BBC, The Guardian, Journal for Palestine Studies, Palestine Chronicle, MATAN Magazine (Hebrew), Occupation Magazine and many Arabic newspapers throughout the Middle East.

This is a one-minute video teaser of Nahedd Kayyali. It is part of the series of video interviews I am releasing in the month before my 50th birthday as a present to you, hoping that you’ll give a present to me too 🙂 What do I want? Your help ending the siege.

“My name is Nahedd Kayyali. I am from Gaza City. I am 26 years old. I have Bachelor’s Degree in Software Development, and I am continuing my higher education towards an MBA. I work as an ICT Program Coordinator in an international NGO that supports university graduates to become more competitive on the job market. My job makes me feel that I have a responsibility to raise my voice and say: Please World WAKE UP! Gazan youth have abilities and skills and they have the right to improve themselves like any youth in the World! We just need the opportunity!”

This short clip is one of 31 I’m posting in the days preceding my 50th birthday. My gift to you.

Sameeha Elwan, 26, is an English literature graduate from the Islamic University. She has a Masters Degree in Culture and Difference from Durham University, UK, and is currently a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature and Creative Writing, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia.

“I was born and raised in Gaza City, Palestine. I started blogging in 2010 after the Israeli offensive of 2008-2009, also known as Operation Cast Lead, which was a moment of epiphany. Reflecting on my own personal entrapment in this intensely political situation was the main reason I started my blog. Writing is one of the therapeutic ways we deal with our situation: Our need to understand home and identity. I have also been published on Mondoweiss, openDemocracy and the Electronic Intifada. I am particularly interested in women’s narratives. While working at the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, I was able to document women narratives of the Israeli offensive of November 2012. I was a contributor to “Gaza Writes Back” and to “Remember US,” two publications that are largely driven by bloggers’ narratives. I can be reached on Twitter @Sameeha88, on Facebook at: Sameeha Elwan or via my blog www.sameeha88.wordpress.com.”