Buried dreams Samir Mansour poses in front of the rubble of his bookshop after it was destroyed by Israeli air strikes, in Gaza City on Saturday. Photo: AFP
For decades, it was the place to go for books in the blockaded Gaza Strip, from school texts to the Koran to Arabic translations of European literary classics.
But on May 17, owner Samir al-Mansour watched in disbelief as the bookshop and publishing house he had poured his life into went up in smoke.
“Forty years of my life were obliterated in less than a second,” said the man in his 50s, a cigarette between his fingers, staring at a mound of concrete, paper and squashed plastic chairs.
ARTS / BOOKS
Buried dreams
By AFP Published: May 24, 2021 07:13 PM
Samir Mansour poses in front of the rubble of his bookshop after it was destroyed by Israeli air strikes, in Gaza City on Saturday. Photo: AFPFor decades, it was the place to go for books in the blockaded Gaza Strip, from school texts to the Koran to Arabic translations of European literary classics.
But on May 17, owner Samir al-Mansour watched in disbelief as the bookshop and publishing house he had poured his life into went up in smoke. Forty years of my life were obliterated in less than a second, said the man in his 50s, a cigarette between his fingers, staring at a mound of concrete, paper and squashed plastic chairs.
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Gaza bookshop owner s dreams buried under the rubble
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23/05/2021 - 17:09 Samir al-Mansour stands in front of the rubble of his bookshop in Gaza City. Forty years of my life were obliterated in less than a second, he said Emmanuel DUNAND AFP 4 min
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP)
For decades, it was the place to go for books in the blockaded Gaza Strip, from school texts to the Koran to Arabic translations of European literary classics.
But last Tuesday, owner Samir al-Mansour watched in disbelief as the bookshop and publishing house he had poured his life into went up in smoke.