Waking up in Gaza city, where everybody starts their day with a heavy face, the city thought to be forbidden and full of negativity, but keeps proving the opposite. Gaza the city full of love, life, positive mind that are capable of creating and opening new horizons.

Hi everybody, this is Mohammed Seyam, A 21-Year old medical student from the beautiful Gaza city who’s been living with type one diabetes for the past 9 years.

And starting, I wish everyone who’s reading this is safe, healthy and having a beautiful day!

A typical day of mine before COVID would include going to the gym, early as possible, then to the hospital, back home, studying, eating…etc. 

Yes, I know, so boring. But fortunately, I have my diabetes, and it can spice my day up a bit.

It’s not common to see a diabetic saying “fortunately, I have diabetes”, I guess we all know this and maybe would accept it, but how would a guy from “Gaza” say it! Because I’m sure if you’ve heard about it, it would be something bad.

So, let me tell you a bit about Gaza. The Gaza Strip or simply Gaza, is a self-governing Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, an area of conflict, under Israeli blockade since 2007, facing daily power cuts that could reach 16 hours a day, constant water cuts, we have limited access to the sea and we hardly travel abroad due to constant border closure, Gaza lacks basics of life, lacks equipment in schools and hospitals, Gaza ranks as the 3rd most densely populated polity in the world, 2.1 millions living in 365 km2 . we can talk a lot about the suffer of Gaza. But why would a diabetic in this place mention his diabetes in a positive way?

Simply, because we all need something positive in our lives, always with us and can make us proud every time we talk about it. A few years ago, I was just like any other Gazan with diabetes, hiding it, hardly trying to manage it and full of fear of how would the world see me as a diabetic. It was tough. And I’m sure a lot of us felt the same one day, I still don’t know what really changed the way I think, but it started very small by just opening up about my diabetes and wait for the people to react. And to be honest, it wasn’t bad! It felt like doing something good, it takes a lot of courage to do it, and I did! So, it was the beginning of a new chapter of my life, a chapter where I’m the real hero of my story.

Time flies, as they say, not a while after That I began learning more about diabetes, managing it better, helping diabetics based on my experience and what I’ve learnt, we conducted the first ever diabetes camp in the Gaza strip last year which was for sure the best thing I’ve done for the diabetes community so far, and now we raise awareness on diabetes via social media platforms and community events.

I look at my diabetes as my superpower, it’s the one thing that makes me special, it’s what helped me build who I am, yes, diabetes doesn’t define me but, it helped me through dark times and for sure taught me courage, Diabetes helped me in shaping the person I am today. In a world full of negativity and bad vibes, I chose my diabetes as the one positive constant power helping me. And it’s not easy to think of it like this with all the feelings you might get from living with it, I mean, most of us faced diabetes distress before, but trying to have a positive mindset about your diabetes would absolutely make your life better, especially with managing your diabetes! The way you feel, controlling the stress around you is a major step forward in living a better life with diabetes, and that’s why a Gazan like me in this place, takes his diabetes as a shield. And one thing I’m sure about from the experience I have as a Gazan living with diabetes is that both diabetics and Gazans teach resilience, we are the masters of resilience, and we will always teach the world how powerful we are.

Yes, my day during COVID is now different, but the way I look at my self with diabetes will never change, diabetes grows with me and my positive energy blooms every time I need it.

Sending you all light and love, stay healthy and always remember, you can diabeat it!