During the past few weeks any mention of the Gaza Strip conjures horrendous images of dead and mutilated children…high profile victims perceived as expendable by both sides in this on-going conflict.

Last year we made ’15 in Gaza’, a film about Shurooq, a young Palestinian girl who is celebrating her fifteenth birthday. We see her and her best friend Mai, two bright, intelligent, fun-loving girls as they talk about their hopes and ambitions in this besieged war ravaged territory. They talk of family, clothes, marriage and education…we see them as they walk among the ruins of a bombed-out school where Shurooq talks of her desire to become an architect and to help re-build her shattered community.

As the bombs continue to fall on Gaza, they are not only destroying schools and homes but also the hopes and dreams of a whole generation of talented youngsters…

If we as human beings have truly evolved, how is it possible we can witness such breathtaking abuses of power?…

If you would like to meet Shurooq and Mai, please click on the link.

Director: Wesam Mousa/ Co-director: Rana Ayoub

Produced by Aconite Productions/ Commissioned by Aljazeera English