In a poignant scene reflecting the will to live, volunteers in Gaza City are engaged in rescuing what remains of the Great Omari Mosque Library, which suffered extensive damage due to bombing. These young individuals, facing difficulties working amidst piles of debris, are doing their utmost to retrieve books and manuscripts that carry a rich history.
Under the rubble, among scattered stones and remnants of burnt shelves, old pages or tattered volumes occasionally emerge. The volunteers carefully pick them up, dust them off, and prepare to transport them to safer locations.
Details of the Effort
Hanine Al-Amassi, director of the "Eyes on Heritage" organization, states that the initiative began as soon as the team was able to access the library after the bombing. She adds, "We did not anticipate the extent of the destruction. Most of the shelves collapsed, and the books were scattered or buried under the rubble." The library, which housed around 20,000 books and manuscripts across various fields, from jurisprudence and language to history and medicine, has suffered severe damage, with initial estimates indicating that the majority of its contents have been destroyed, while only a few thousand can still be salvaged.
The volunteers are working to gather the remaining salvageable books before they suffer further damage from moisture and dust, racing against time which threatens what remains of this cultural heritage. In one corner of the destroyed hall, Salma Al-Dahdouh, a university student, sits on the ground among scattered piles of books. She uses a small brush to remove dust from an old book while relying on the light from her mobile phone due to power outages and damage to the building's roof.
Background & Context
The Omari Mosque Library is considered one of the oldest religious libraries in the Gaza Strip, holding a long history of knowledge within its shelves. As damage to cultural heritage in Gaza increases, with official data indicating that hundreds of archaeological and religious sites have been affected since the onset of the war, the efforts to save the library represent an important symbolic step in preserving the cultural identity of the city.
Al-Amassi points out that some of what has been found includes manuscripts dating back to ancient historical periods, including documents from the Ottoman era, emphasizing that their value extends beyond religious aspects to historical and cultural dimensions.
Impact & Consequences
Despite the scale of the losses, the volunteers cling to hope in salvaging what remains of this heritage. Volunteer Ahmed Al-Kurdi, who is working on organizing the recovered books, states, "The books were scattered everywhere, some buried under stones and dust." He notes that saving a single book can take a long time due to its fragility, adding, "We treat these books as treasures because they represent a memory that cannot be replaced."
The group relies on simple tools, such as brushes and wooden sticks, in the absence of specialized book restoration equipment, which adds to the difficulty of the task. Nevertheless, the determination of these volunteers remains unwavering as they continue their work quietly, attempting to salvage the memory of an entire city from beneath the rubble.
Regional Significance
These efforts to save the library are part of a larger struggle to preserve cultural heritage in the region, where many historical and religious sites are suffering severe damage amid ongoing conflicts. Preserving the library is not only about protecting books but also about safeguarding a collective memory that reflects the history and culture of the Palestinian people.
In conclusion, despite the significant challenges, hope remains pinned on the ability of these volunteers to save what can be salvaged from this cultural heritage. Al-Amassi states, "We may not be able to recover everything that was lost, but we are trying to protect what remains."