The Old Girl: Lana al-Sharif and the Anatomy of a Human Tragedy

Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Lana al-Sharif is ten years old, but her eyes reveal a life of suffering that few adults could endure. Her hair, once black, is now streaked with white, and blemishes on her skin speak of a body consumed by trauma. In what should have been a time of innocence, Lana became known in her refugee camp as " the old girl ."

Lana's story is that of an entire generation trapped in a tragedy that the world ignores or chooses not to see . In January 2024, an Israeli bombing near her home triggered a violent panic attack. The trauma, too great for her body and mind, triggered an autoimmune disease, vitiligo , which left visible marks on her skin.

Today, Lana lives with her family in a tent in Khan Younis. They've lost everything: their home, their safety, their hope . Their life, like that of millions of Palestinians in Gaza, is one of daily survival. Every day is a struggle to find food, water, and medicine. Yet, no one talks about Lana and children like her.

The complicit silence

While Western media devotes ample space to the release of every Israeli hostage, stories like Lana's remain submerged . No one talks about the Palestinian hostages imprisoned without trial . No one reports on the lives of those trapped in the Strip, a place described by the United Nations as "unlivable" as early as 2020 .

In Gaza , two million people live under siege . They cannot leave. They cannot receive adequate medical care. They cannot seek refuge in a safe place. They are held hostage by a conflict that deprives them not only of their freedom, but also of their dignity. Yet, the world looks the other way, anesthetized by a narrative that dehumanizes Palestinians and reduces their lives to numbers in a war bulletin.

This silence is not neutral. It is a choice. It is the result of a media system that amplifies the voices of some and silences those of others, that renders Palestinian victims invisible while humanizing Israeli ones. This imbalance is the heart of complicity. Telling only one side of the story perpetuates injustice, justifies oppression, and legitimizes violence.

Dehumanization is the mechanism by which we strip others of their humanity, rendering them impersonal entities—terrorists, threats, and objects of extermination.
As Hannah Arendt described in her analysis of totalitarianism, dehumanization is the prerequisite for mass extermination.
Only after we have erased every reflection of ourselves in others does it become possible to kill without scruples.
In the Gaza tragedy, the dominant narrative often paints an entire population as potentially guilty, as a breeding ground for terrorism: this is the modern face of dehumanization.

Stolen Innocence

According to UNICEF , more than a million children live in Gaza . For them, childhood has been erased. There is no school, no play, no future . Each bombing takes away a piece of their humanity, transforming them into precocious adults, marked by traumas that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.

Lana al-Sharif is one of them. But for every Lana, there are thousands of other children whose names, broken dreams, and fears we will never know . Children who are orphaned, injured, traumatized, or simply disappeared under the rubble .

Their suffering is not an accident of war. It is a political choice. It is the result of years of siege, bombing, and deprivation. It is the product of a policy that views Palestinians not as human beings, but as numbers, as "collateral damage."

Resist to survive

Despite everything, the Palestinian people resist. They resist the occupation, the siege, the invisibility. They resist to survive, to keep alive the hope of a better life for their children.

Lana al-Sharif is a symbol of this resistance. Her white hair and scarred skin tell a story of pain, but also of resilience. Every day she lives is a victory against a system that seeks to erase her.

Telling Lana's story means breaking the silence . It means acknowledging the humanity of Palestinians, their suffering, their struggle. It means rejecting the narrative that justifies oppression and embracing a worldview where every life matters.

The duty to tell

The media has immense power: to give a voice to those who don't have one. Yet, too often, this power is used to reinforce inequalities, to amplify the pain of some while ignoring that of others.

Lana al-Sharif 's story is an act of justice. It's a way to remind the world that Gaza isn't just about numbers, it's about people. People with dreams, fears, hopes. People who deserve to be seen, heard, remembered.

Lana isn't just " the old girl ." She's the face of an injustice we can no longer ignore. And telling her story means choosing a side: that of humanity, truth, justice.

Lana's story challenges us deeply. We cannot remain silent in the face of this tragedy. We have a duty to speak out, to listen, to act. Because every ignored story is a further wound inflicted on those already wounded. And because, as Lana teaches us, even in the darkest moments, resistance is the most human act there is.