Chana Joffe-Walt
👤 PersonAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Is he okay, Banyas? Yes, now he's all right. We talked for a while and then said goodbye. That was the end of April. And then, in July, I saw Maram's name on my phone. Hi, Maram. Can you hear me? Hello? Yeah. It was Banyas. She wanted to talk, tell me about her day. Then, another day... Hello. Hi, Banyas. Do you want to talk to them? Yeah, sure. What are you doing?
Is he okay, Banyas? Yes, now he's all right. We talked for a while and then said goodbye. That was the end of April. And then, in July, I saw Maram's name on my phone. Hi, Maram. Can you hear me? Hello? Yeah. It was Banyas. She wanted to talk, tell me about her day. Then, another day... Hello. Hi, Banyas. Do you want to talk to them? Yeah, sure. What are you doing?
Through the summer into the fall, Banyas called me, and I called her. Maram, her mother, gave permission for these phone calls, but it was always just Banyas on the line, telling me about herself and her life. I wanted to know what it's like to be a kid in this war. And here was this kid who wanted to talk. Banias was a natural narrator of her own life. She was constantly directing my attention.
Through the summer into the fall, Banyas called me, and I called her. Maram, her mother, gave permission for these phone calls, but it was always just Banyas on the line, telling me about herself and her life. I wanted to know what it's like to be a kid in this war. And here was this kid who wanted to talk. Banias was a natural narrator of her own life. She was constantly directing my attention.
These are my friends. This is my school stationery, as you can see. Do you want to know what we're doing right now? I'll tell you. Unfortunately for me, she also had zero interest in satisfying my journalistic agenda. If I asked Beignet a question she was not interested in, she'd yawn. Dramatically. Stage yawn. It's getting late. I'm so tired. Let's look over here.
These are my friends. This is my school stationery, as you can see. Do you want to know what we're doing right now? I'll tell you. Unfortunately for me, she also had zero interest in satisfying my journalistic agenda. If I asked Beignet a question she was not interested in, she'd yawn. Dramatically. Stage yawn. It's getting late. I'm so tired. Let's look over here.
I had been reading and thinking about what was happening in Gaza all the time, talking to people there. Every call with Banias was something I hadn't heard, that was completely different from when adults tell the story. So that is today's episode. We're calling it The Narrator. We're going to listen to this kid in Gaza, a narrator who does not ask permission to narrate.
I had been reading and thinking about what was happening in Gaza all the time, talking to people there. Every call with Banias was something I hadn't heard, that was completely different from when adults tell the story. So that is today's episode. We're calling it The Narrator. We're going to listen to this kid in Gaza, a narrator who does not ask permission to narrate.
She takes the phone with a soaring confidence that what she has to tell you is interesting and important. And I agree with her. Stay with us.
She takes the phone with a soaring confidence that what she has to tell you is interesting and important. And I agree with her. Stay with us.
It's This American Life. My calls with Banyas were sporadic. Sometimes we talked once a week. Sometimes a month would go by. Usually we talked at the end of the day, her time, while she was sitting on a mattress inside the house, fidgeting. There were always lots of people and activity in the background, but Banyas never explained much about who was there or what they were doing.
It's This American Life. My calls with Banyas were sporadic. Sometimes we talked once a week. Sometimes a month would go by. Usually we talked at the end of the day, her time, while she was sitting on a mattress inside the house, fidgeting. There were always lots of people and activity in the background, but Banyas never explained much about who was there or what they were doing.
She told me about what she was doing, what she wanted me to know, and sometimes see.
She told me about what she was doing, what she wanted me to know, and sometimes see.
She's in a pink shirt that says dream, huge eyes, dark hair and pigtails with two loose curls, very purposefully framing her face. And you have earrings. I didn't know you had earrings.
She's in a pink shirt that says dream, huge eyes, dark hair and pigtails with two loose curls, very purposefully framing her face. And you have earrings. I didn't know you had earrings.
When Benyus and I first started talking on the phone, my questions were pretty basic. What do you do all day? She was in a house with 80 people, which is unusual in Gaza right now to live in a house. Most people are in tents or schools or other temporary shelters. Banias and her mom, dad, and baby brother were on the ground floor of this house, sharing that floor with about 20 relatives.
When Benyus and I first started talking on the phone, my questions were pretty basic. What do you do all day? She was in a house with 80 people, which is unusual in Gaza right now to live in a house. Most people are in tents or schools or other temporary shelters. Banias and her mom, dad, and baby brother were on the ground floor of this house, sharing that floor with about 20 relatives.