Today, Refaat Alareer should have turned 47.
He should have been here, teaching, writing, mentoring our writers, making jokes, challenging us to think harder, and reminding us again and again that our stories matter.
Refaat was born in Gaza on September 23, 1979.
He was a poet, professor, writer, and one of the co-founders of We Are Not Numbers.
To so many of us, he was also a teacher, mentor, colleague, and friend.
Today, on what would have been his 47th birthday, we remember Refaat, who was killed by Israel on December 6, 2023.
We remember him not only for how he died, but for how he lived — teaching and inspiring generations of young Palestinians to write back and tell their stories.
