"Mom, I Want to Live" focuses on the war-torn Gaza Strip in 2025. It uses ten children of different ages and situations as the core of the narrative. Through the first-person perspective, it connects their memories and prayers at the end of their lives. The novel follows the progression of "warm past - struggle to escape - war raids - deathbed prayers". In each child's story, it not only incorporates Gaza's thousands of years of historical and cultural imprints and other unique folk customs, but also faces the devastating disasters caused by the war: the collapse of homes, the lack of supplies, the separation of relatives, and the originally vivid childhood was completely crushed by artillery fire.
From Hinde, a 6-year-old girl who was trapped in a car, to Atta, a 7-year-old boy who protected his younger brother in the floods in the refugee camp; from Sami, an 8-year-old who was hit by an air raid at the water point, to Lina, a terrified 5-year-old in the tent in the "safe zone"... The regrets and longings of the ten children converged into a shocking cry: "Mom, I want to live." This simple prayer is not only a child's instinctive desire for life and deep attachment to family, but also a silent complaint against the cruelty of war.
The novel integrates UNICEF reports, international media on-site reports and civilian oral records, etc., While showing the multi-dimensional devastation of war on survival, growth, society and psychology, it also further explains the preciousness of a happy life and the indispensability of peace. With a sad but powerful writing style, the work allows readers to see the gloom of war through the eyes of children, and also see the glimmer of humanity in desperate situations. It triggers deep reflections on the dignity of life, cultural inheritance and international responsibility, and calls on the world to pay attention to the suffering of Gaza civilians and to have full hope for the arrival of peace.
Real and touching