The images out of Gaza are grim: scenes of women and children burned alive, body parts scattered in bloody bundles across the charred ground, shell-shocked children facing life as amputees and orphans.
Against that apocalyptic backdrop, there remain defiant glimmers of joy. One such example is Ahmed Mushtaha, founder of the Gaza Circus School, a ramshackle performing arts troupe determined to bring some psychological respite to traumatized Gazans.
“Our passion is to bring smiles to children’s faces,” Mushtaha, a 36-year-old father of three, tells Analyst News. “We are innocent people who love life, who love children, who love doing good for others and helping children.”
On his Instagram account, Mushtaha posts images of thin young men and boys running about with brightly painted faces and red clown noses, as crowds of hungry children and tired elderly men and women alike laugh and cheer at their acrobatics and antics.
The stark juxtaposition of the lean, silver-haired artist juggling pins while standing perfectly still on a makeshift balancing plank, against the gray backdrop of houses reduced to rubble and ash, is disarming. It’s as if actors from a McDonald’s commercial accidentally walked onto the set of Armageddon.
Mushtaha graduated in 2008 from the department of physical education at Gaza’s Al Aqsa University, an institution now reduced to rubble by Israeli bombs. It was his dream to establish a training center to teach young talent circus arts — and it was almost realized in 2011, when the Al Jabal Foundation, a foreign delegation from Belgium, offered a training program to 15 young people in Gaza.
But they only managed a few training sessions before the Israeli authorities banned the organization from entering Gaza. After that, Mushtaha established his own circus school, training others with whatever resources he could find in the besieged enclave he calls home. The balancing board he and his troupe use, for instance, is a long wooden plank placed on top of a plastic sanitation tube. Since then, Mushtaha has grown the troupe to include about 70 members, despite several losses under Israeli fire.
“Just three days before the war [started], we had completed maintenance to improve the school, but now it has been heavily damaged,” says Mushtaha. But since then, “everything has been destroyed. Tragically, all we worked to build since 2011 was demolished and collapsed in the blink of an eye. The circus school suffered severe damage. Every dream we had has been shattered.”
We spoke to Mushtaha in the fall, before the current ceasefire agreement that has brought Gazans a temporary respite from the 15-month onslaught that has left their home in rubble.
When and why did you decide to start your circus?
We began our training in 2012, but the Israeli military occupation prevented the international delegation, which was going to establish a circus school in Gaza, from realizing our dream.
They were barred from entering Gaza, but I persevered. I started training myself more, though I had only basic skills. I continued developing myself by studying online materials related to circus arts. Gradually, I took on various projects to improve myself, eventually forming a circus team and, slowly, I was able to establish the Gaza Circus School.
In the beginning, we trained in a small club, a modest place that gathered us together. However, I continued to pursue my ambition, with a strong determination to open a large circus arts school. Over time, I built up a larger school, and today it stands as a prominent circus school in Gaza.
Before the war, we worked with children, providing psychological support in places like kindergartens, schools, institutions and parks across Gaza’s beautiful locations.
How does doing acrobatics and dressing up as clowns help alleviate the suffering of war?
As a Palestinian artist, it is my duty to use acrobatics to bring some relief to children who constantly endure the hardships and horrors of war here and face numerous challenges. The least we can offer is to try to ease their burdens and bring a smile to their faces. When children see us dressed as clowns, performing acrobatic tricks, it brings them joy and makes them laugh. By playing with them and giving them small toys, we provide psychological support and offer them some comfort.
This is our nature as clowns at the Gaza Circus School. By God’s grace, the colorful costumes bring immense relief to the children. They live in constant fear and under challenging conditions, so breaking their routine by playing music, performing acrobatic tricks and organizing competitions brings them great happiness.
How have your fellow Palestinians responded to your circus?
You know that the situation we live in is extremely difficult. When there is a change, such as dressing up as a clown, the children love it; they love to laugh, to be entertained, to be made happy. They love someone who can make them laugh, play with them and give them toys. Certainly, this will improve the mental well-being of the children, especially the children of Gaza.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive. There were smiles, laughter, and even the parents themselves told us that we had provided them with psychological support as well. We found ourselves offering support to adults as much as to children.
An elderly woman, around 75 years old, had lost her entire family; they were all martyred. She was crying when she attended one of our performances. I invited her to join a contest with me and spoke to her, and she began to smile and laugh as she watched our show.
Another story involved two elderly people who were extremely joyful during our show. They danced and sang along with the performance, but sadly, sometime later, these individuals were also martyred.
What are the biggest challenges you face and your greatest needs as a traveling circus in a warzone?
Wherever we go these days, we are putting our lives at risk. We venture out to offer psychological support in Gaza, visiting displacement schools and many other places where people have been forced to relocate. Each time, we are truly risking our lives; the situation is extremely challenging.
First and foremost, we need safety: to be able to move freely, perform safely, without fear of any threat. Secondly, it is critical that the war ceases — nothing is more important than that. Thirdly, Gaza Circus School needs support and outreach so that we can once again bring smiles to children’s faces, meet their needs and rebuild our school, which has been destroyed. We aim to resume training sessions for children and youth in the art of circus once more.
Where are you based right now?
Our team is now divided — one half in the north, the other in the south — with little communication between us due to the war and its repercussions. We are the team currently working in northern Gaza, a group of approximately 10 members at present. Meanwhile, our full team at the circus school consists of 70 members.
I am here with my family; our home has been damaged, and we are hosting displaced relatives. My sister joined us after her house was completely destroyed. We are no longer living in safety — every day brings bombing, fear and attacks.
We are suffering from severe food shortages. There are no vegetables, no fruit, no meat, not even biscuits. There are many things that children here in northern Gaza are deprived of.
What is your hope for Gaza and the Palestinian people?
My hope for Gaza, first and foremost, is that this war will end, that Gaza will be rebuilt from the ground up, and that it will return even more beautiful than before. I hope that all of us, as Palestinians and Gazans, can live in peace, that our loved ones will return from the south, and that this war will finally come to an end.
Honestly, from my perspective, what I foresee is that we will all die and become among the martyrs.
To help Mushtaha and his family rebuild their home, donate here. To support the Gaza Circus School and other displaced families, you can donate here.
