Dorgham Qreaiqea ضرغام بسام قريقع

Dorgham Qreaiqea

ضرغام بسام قريق

In His Own Words

Every statement Dorgham made that could be found in published sources, in chronological order. Most were written in Arabic on Facebook and Instagram and reached us through press translations, which vary. Each translation below must be checked against his Arabic original by a fluent reviewer before public use.

On children, and a small difference (2020)

“We noticed that the children refused to wear plain white masks, so we made colorful drawings on dozens of medical masks, and we posted pictures online. Everyone loved them. Then we headed to al Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, which is the poorest area in the Strip, and distributed the masks after disinfecting them.”

“We drew the same masks used by characters of La Casa de Papel on masks for young people. We opted for stanzas or quotes by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish for older people.”

“We felt we were able to make a small difference.”

Interview, Al Monitor, Ahmed Sammak, 14 April 2020

On what art is

“Art for me is not mere painting on canvas; it is a means of expressing suffering, life, and hope despite everything.”

His social media, as quoted by WAFA, 19 March 2025

On the camps

The children's cinema he co founded is documented as Camp Cinema (سينما المخيم), with Yasmeen Al Jarba.

“A wonderful and beautiful day with a successful and impactful show among displacement tents in Qarara near Khan Younis. Hundreds of displaced people, children, women, and youth, attended and were extremely happy because we expressed their pain and wishes.”

His social media, after a camp theatre performance, as quoted by WAFA. Undated; the camp theatre ran from November 2024.

“We will continue providing psychological support in our initiatives to give displaced people some hope amid the genocide war they endure.”

His social media, as quoted by WAFA.

“The screen is bigger than the war.”

+972 Magazine, 18 April 2025. Note: a phrase he heard from a participant at a screening and adopted as his own motto. Attribute as his motto, not his coinage.

His request

“If we are not destined to continue living, then preserve our actions, our names, and our images, and write on our graves in bold letters: Here lie those who loved life but could not find a way to it.”

Facebook, first posted in early 2024 per +972 and reposted repeatedly; Airwars records it as his final Facebook post. Translation per Airwars.

Curatorial note: the closing line echoes Mahmoud Darwish, “We love life, if we find a way to it” (ونحن نحب الحياة إذا ما استطعنا إليها سبيلا). Dorgham had already carried Darwish's verses onto the masks of 2020. The echo should be named in any wall text, as analysis rather than fact.

On returning to his destroyed studio (28 February 2025)

“After 15 months of displacement, I returned to Gaza to find myself facing an unbearable reality; my home and studio were completely destroyed by the Israeli army, and all the artworks I had prepared for my first exhibition, Until the Chair Grows Wings, disappeared under the rubble.”

Facebook and Instagram, 28 February 2025. Translation combined from WAFA and Al Araby Al Jadeed.

“Those works were more than just paintings; they were part of my soul, of dreams I had always wished to share with an audience.”

“Today, everything is being destroyed. My studio, once my refuge for creativity and freedom, is now just rubble beneath the weight of war machines. The Israeli army destroyed all my artworks expressing history, homeland, pain, and the dreams of a people.”

Same period; quoted by +972 Magazine and WAFA

“What happened is not merely destruction of things, but an attempt to erase memory, culture, and humanity. But as it is said, hope is not killed except by the death of the soul, and art is my soul that will not die.”

Attribution note: he introduces “hope is not killed except by the death of the soul” with “as it is said.” That half is a saying he was citing. “Art is my soul that will not die” is his own.

“I believe art cannot be destroyed. As long as there is a creative spirit, art will remain alive in us.”

As quoted by WAFA, 19 March 2025