Motaz Azaiza on life after reporting in Gaza
Motaz Azaiza on life after reporting in Gaza
As Motaz Azaiza walks around the UN plaza after a panel on reporting from conflict zones, people repeatedly stop him for photos and handshakes.
He became one of the most recognised photojournalists and faces from Gaza, with a social media following of 17 million people, before he took off his press vest and left the Strip in January.
Even though he is physically no longer elsewhere, his mind remains in Gaza.
“I'm not enjoying my life. I took my body from there, but all my mental energy is still directed out there," Motaz tells Middle East Eye.
“While I'm talking to you, people are sending me texts saying, ‘We need to evacuate people from Gaza City to Deir al Balah. We need water here. We need something. And I need to focus my energy on them. So once I finish my interviews, I'll wire money so they can leave."
Azaiza said that he is currently touring the US and trying to increase awareness about Gaza that can translate into assistance.
To help people in Gaza, he says he has created his own foundation, the Motaz Foundation Inc, to raise money and visibility for people there.
“I'm tired, he says. “But I need to continue.”
He looks tired, but more than tired, he looks depleted. There is a lack of emotion in his eyes and his responses, which is markedly different from the person that people have come to know and love. I am told by an acquaintance that he is struggling with trauma from the war.
Palestinian Authority as a way out
When Azaiza is asked if he regrets taking off his press vest, he says he doesn’t.
“I don't regret taking it off. I regret leaving Gaza sometimes. But, if I do, I will just use this pin for covering it,” he says, pointing to a small metal ‘Press’ pin he is wearing.
He says he's unable to return to Gaza, but is committed to bringing help from the US. “I do a lot from here,” he says. “I help my people more. I bring more money to Gaza.”
While there has been a massive crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech in the US under both the Biden and Trump administrations, he said his experience in the US, so far, has been “not bad”.
“People here are very supportive. Sometimes I meet a policeman who is, like, hugging me or giving me more access. So there's a lot of good people”.
He says he has noticed the shift in perception of Gaza while he has been in the US, which he says is “good for people outside of Gaza”, but has not made a difference to people inside. Azaiza is referring to a significant shift among Americans that recent polls show is moving in the direction of greater sympathy with Palestinians and the growing sentiment that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
His family is still suffering and lives in fear. "This is our life,” he adds.
While western leaders are back slapping each other over recognising a Palestinian state, Azaiza doesn’t believe it will make a material difference to anyone in Gaza.
However, he does support the Palestinian Authority (PA) taking over control of Gaza.
“Everyone in Gaza wishes for them [PA] to come back to Gaza in control,” he says. "It's going make the life of Palestinians in Gaza easier."
“All countries recognise the PLO as the only representative. The Palestinian Authority is official government. Most of the people in Gaza – approximately 70 or 75 percent of employees in Gaza are PA employees. So everyone in Gaza is waiting for this. They are angry because they feel the PA is weak. The division between PA and Hamas is not allowing this. But they are hoping that one day they will come back”.
When pressed about the PA’s ability to carve out their own destiny, as many Palestinians view them as collaborators with Israel, he says that Palestinians want to go with “peaceful solutions”.
“It’s hard. We saw what happened after Hamas’s attack on Israel. What did it result in? All of Gaza destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people killed. So fighting in this way alone, didn't bring anything for the people of Palestine. It didn’t bring any land. It didn't protect anyone”.