Ayssel and Asser, 3 days old
Their story
Born on August 10, 2024, Ayssel and Asser entered a world that had long been overshadowed by big heavy words like siege and blockade. But in their three short days of life, they knew only their parents’ love.
In those first two days, when we returned home with our twins, my wife wouldn’t let me step outside—she wanted me by her side, helping with the endless changing, sharing the joy that we had longed for through nine months of waiting. That joy seemed to dissolve as we gazed at them, lying side by side on the bed, our hearts overflowing.
But then, they were taken from me—my beloved, my muse, and my children. The children I had dreamed of for years, the children I prayed for when I longed to marry and become a father. Yet God, in His wisdom, blessed me not with one, but with two—a boy and a girl—knowing how deeply I love children.
My pain is beyond words, too heavy for ink to hold. I miss them every single day, every single moment. My life has become a well of sorrow, and I carry that sadness in every breath.
-Mohammed
Their grieving father shares with me that even though they were only three days old, their features were already beginning to set them apart. “Asser resembled me, and Ayssel resembled Jumana.” He shares.
Their design
We will never know what kind of people they would have grown up to be. What we do know is that for those three short days, they were Mohammed and Jumana’s everything. Their guiding light, their blessings.
And so, for their commemorative square, I’ve chosen a sun and moon motif designed by Creggy’s Crochet. While different in their nature, just like Asser and Ayssel were, these celestial symbols both bring us comfort, bring us guidance, and bring us light in the darkness.
The sun and moon glow against a dark blue background, and lastly, the entire square has a white border, symbolizing their kafan. All the squares representing lives lost will have this white border.
Why
Remembering the lives lost in Gaza matters. Every life matters and every life is worth remembering.
They were people before they became statistics. Before they became a headline.
And in the case of Asser and Ayssel, they were lives that had just barely begun.
Despite the heartbreak of losing both his twins and his wife in the same attack, Mohammed is surviving day by day, showing us what true resilience and strength in the face of adversity looks like.
His wife mattered. His twins mattered. And he matters too.
>> You can donate to help support him through this forced displacement here.
Help me keep this project alive
If you know a story that deserves to be commemorated, you can share it with me, knowing that I will treat your loved ones with the utmost love, honor, and respect.
We Were, We Are, the memorial quilt and accompanying blog series, is not only to remember the lives lost, such as Ayssel and Asser, but also to highlight the resilience of those still living despite all odds.
