KUALA LUMPUR - Behind every shattered home in Gaza today is a child learning to live with grief too heavy for their young hearts to bear.
As bombs continue to scar the Palestinian enclave, a quiet but determined effort is unfolding to preserve not only lives, but also memory, dignity and hope for future generations.
During a deeply emotional maiden visit to Malaysia, Palestinian organisation Taawon spoke of two urgent missions -- caring for thousands of orphaned children and bringing the story of Palestine closer to Malaysians through a virtual Palestinian Museum initiative in Kuala Lumpur.
Taawon chairman Dr Nabil Qaddumi said the organisation hopes to forge strategic partnerships with Malaysian institutions and organisations, describing Malaysians as steadfast supporters of the Palestinian cause.
"Malaysian people are very supportive of the Palestinian cause, and Taawon wants to leverage that support by working with like-minded groups. Among the platforms discussed were conferences, forums and exhibitions,” he said when met at Seri Negara here on Tuesday.
However, it was the staggering number of orphaned children in Gaza that cast the darkest shadow over the discussions.
Taawon director-general Tareq Emtairah said the genocide war in Gaza since October 2023 has left 64,000 children orphaned, with more than half below the age of six. Taawon is currently caring for 20,000 of them.
"They also need mental and psychological support because most of them wake up in fear because of the sound of the bombing and are very traumatised. Taawon will commit to supporting them until they reach 18 years old,” he said.
For many of these children, nights are haunted by explosions and loss, while mornings begin without parents to hold or comfort them.
"Children are the most vulnerable group in Gaza. Taawon wants to create a safe environment for them so that they can grow up enjoying dignified living,” he added.
According to Emtairah, Taawon signed a memorandum of understanding with Malaysian Humanitarian Aid and Relief (MAHAR) last week to support orphan welfare efforts.
Beyond humanitarian aid, Taawon is also fighting another battle -- preserving Palestine’s identity and history amid decades of displacement and occupation.
Palestinian Museum director-general Amer Shomali said the museum, opened in 2016 and built by Taawon in the West Bank, was created to preserve and amplify the Palestinian narrative after their original national museum in Jerusalem was lost following Israeli occupation.
"Our national museum was in Jerusalem, but when Israel took over and occupied Jerusalem, they controlled and confiscated the museum and its collection. Years later, we opened this museum, trying to fill the gap,” he said.
According to Shomali, the Palestinian Museum is a very unique case because most of its collection and the cultural production of the Palestinian people were confiscated and looted in the past 78 years by the Israeli soldiers.
Shomali described the Palestinian Museum as unlike any other in the world -- a museum that many Palestinians themselves are unable to visit.
"For the Palestinian Museum, most of the audience cannot visit the museum. Even our own people, the Palestinians diaspora all around the world, in the refugee camps, have no right to visit Palestine and cannot visit the museum.
"Nevertheless, we keep travelling around the world to serve our community. We are a unique museum. The museum travels more around the world than people visiting the museum. We travelled to Scotland, Japan, and Mexico.
"Now we are in conversations with Malaysian organisations and galleries in exploring ideas to set up something like a satellite Palestine museum in Kuala Lumpur,” Shomali said.
Among the ideas discussed was a virtual experience allowing Malaysians to walk through Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth virtually while learning the stories behind the land and its people.
"This is just Taawon's first visit, there will be more visits. At the end of this year, there will be the Palestine-Kuala Lumpur Film Festival,” he added.
The delegation also visited Seri Negara to learn about Malaysia’s own journey to independence -- a visit that stirred both admiration and longing among the Palestinian representatives.
Moved by the history housed within Seri Negara, the delegation expressed hope that one day Palestine, too, would have its own place to tell its story freely.
"Hopefully one day, after the Occupation, Palestine will have its own Seri Negara to tell our own story,” said Shomali. - BERNAMA