There are moments when a poem becomes more than a poem.

By Zeina Shareef - Project Coordinator 

There are moments when a poem becomes more than a poem.

It becomes a voice that survives distance.
A memory that refuses to disappear.
A bridge between people who may never meet, yet somehow still understand one another.

Over the past few months, the Hands Up Project has had the privilege of connecting with students from Allende-Custodi High School in Milan, Italy, through the support of Italian teacher Marta Ferrari. Together, we held two online link-up sessions with students aged 16 to 18 — conversations filled with curiosity, reflection, and genuine human connection.

At the centre of this project was Moon Tell Me the Truth, a collection of poems written and illustrated by children aged 9 to 15 from Palestine, Argentina, India, and Spain as part of the 2023 Hands Up Project International Poetry Competition.

Some of the Palestinian children who contributed to this collection wrote about fear, loss, hope, dreams, family, war, and everyday life under occupation long before the most recent devastation in Gaza. Today, their words carry an even heavier weight. Since these poems were written, some of the young writers have lived through displacement, destruction, and unimaginable violence. Heartbreakingly, some have been killed during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

And this is precisely why this project mattered so deeply to the students in Milan.

Rather than allowing these voices to fade into silence, the students of Allende-Custodi chose to carry them further.

They translated the poems into Italian, adding their own illustrations, interpretations, and reflections along the way. What began as a translation project slowly became something much more personal — an attempt to listen carefully to lives far away from their own, and to ensure those lives continue to be seen and heard.

The students created a website dedicated to the project, where they shared their translations and wrote heartfelt reflections about the experience. Their words showed not only empathy and sensitivity but also a deep awareness of the responsibility that comes with carrying these voices across languages and borders.

Some of their reflections included:

“This experience was so amazing, but more than anything, it made me think. Not every day you can talk to kids who are living under bombs; it's hard to put yourself in the shoes of someone our age whose life is totally different from ours. It was super touching but also really beautiful. I'm so happy about the teamwork we had: the people who were better at English helped with the translation, those who had nice handwriting helped others write the poems, and if someone was stuck for drawing ideas, they asked a classmate for tips. Even though we each had our own poem to translate, every single translation was the result of lots of sharing" — Rebecca Vaghi

“...This experience made me reflect even more on how war affects even those who should not be involved, and on how important it is to give a voice to these stories.” — Kim Jai

“This project left something deep inside me; it was not just an assignment, but an experience that made me reflect. Translating poems written by children and teenagers from Palestine and Gaza made me feel closer to their reality. Their words, simple yet full of meaning, use metaphors that speak about pain but also about peace. Rewriting and decorating them made me feel like I was taking care of those messages, as if I were giving them even more value….” — Marco Rahal 

We warmly invite you to visit the students’ website, explore their beautiful Italian translations of the poems, and read their thoughtful reflections using the following link:

https://sites.google.com/view/lunadimmilaverit/home-page

In a world where Palestinian stories are too often reduced to statistics, preserving and sharing these voices matters more than ever.

Behind every translation was a student who chose to sit with these poems carefully, thoughtfully, and compassionately. We would  like to extend our heartfelt and deepest  thanks to their teacher, Marta Ferrari, whose support and guidance made this project possible, and to the students of Allende-Custodi High School who helped carry these voices across languages and borders:

Emma Bollettin, Vittorio Borsari, Mattia De Chiara, Joudy Elkersh, Gemma Greco, Andrea La Grotta, Aurora Mombelli, Simone Palumbo, Matteo Ponzinibio, Giacomo Protto, Marco Rahal, Giacomo Riva, Giovanni Schiavon, Monica Serfilippi, Sofia Soli, Arianna Vellini, Silvia Wassef, Francesco Zanati, Simone Aducayen, Gabriele Agazzi, Camilla Appuhami, Ginevra Astourian, Nicolas Balestra, Lisa Bergonzi, Chiara Brusati, Giulia Carillo, Leonardo Cirlo, Samuele Codegoni, Matteo Gagliardi, Manuela Iannone, Jai Young Kim, Azzurra Lisiero, Alessandro Mastrelli, Mario Osnaghi, Tommaso Pavesi, Matteo Pelo, Beatrice Piacci, Melissa Prestini, Leone Razafisolo, Daniele Roy, Alessia Salvini, Alessandro Silvestri, Rebecca Vaghi, and Francesco Verderio.

At The Hands Up, we often speak about building connections between young people around the world. This project was a beautiful reminder that poetry can create understanding, empathy, and solidarity — even across continents.

And sometimes, that is where change begins.