Gaza City – I first met Dr Refaat in 2015 in Gaza City. He was a guest speaker at The English Club to discuss the book he edited, Gaza Writes Back: Short Stories from Young Writers in Gaza.
It was a collection of short stories by 15 young writers, and a couple by Dr Refaat, that delved into the experience of growing up in Gaza and the writers’ experiences during the 2008-2009 Israeli assault on the enclave.
We were all aspiring writers of a sort, we ranged from 13 to 17 years old, and I think most of us underestimated what being an English major could be like.
We thought we were learning everything we needed to learn right there in the English Club. Then we met Dr Refaat.
He was so impressive, the hall was completely quiet – we were all absorbing his speech, his mannerisms; we were moved by his story.
Dr Refaat told us his story of rebellion, how he decided to major in English when his father wanted him to study medicine.
He was determined to steer away from the sciences, though, so he told us he intentionally failed in his chemistry and physics exams to convince his father that he needed to move to the literary stream.
“I had to make my father proud, but I hated math!” he explained to an amused audience.
His father wasn’t happy with this but later, Dr Refaat ranked second in all of Palestine on his high school exams. And he went on to major in English.
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