More than 60 Finnish theatres and performing arts organizations have launched a powerful joint campaign today, publishing videos across social media in which actors read personal stories written by children living in Gaza.
The campaign, titled "Kertomuksia Gazasta" ("Stories from Gaza"), aims to humanize the ongoing humanitarian crisis and serve as a call to conscience. By sharing these firsthand accounts, the initiative urges audiences to focus on the suffering of civilians, particularly children, and to recognize the profound human cost of war.
“These are not fictional scripts. They are real accounts written by children living through war,” said Matilda von Weissenberg, CEO of & Espoo Theatre, and Jussi Sorjanen, its artistic director. “As theatre-makers, our role has always been to carry stories, especially those that are difficult, painful, and urgent. This is our way of refusing to stay silent.”
The stories, originally published in the books Här var vårt hus (2025) and A Million Kites (2024), recount the daily realities of life under siege, moments of fear, survival, loss, and resilience. As international headlines reduce civilian suffering to numbers and statistics, the campaign brings it back to the human level, one voice at a time.
The campaign comes nearly two years into the ongoing conflict in Gaza, where humanitarian conditions have continued to deteriorate. The United Nations has declared a famine, and international legal experts have cited evidence of war crimes. Yet many feel the stories of individual civilians, especially children, have been overlooked.
In addition to the online video releases, tagged with #KertomuksiaGazasta, #BerättelserFrånGaza, and #StoriesFromGaza on platforms like Instagram (at @kertomuksiagazasta), several theatres will host live readings of the texts throughout the autumn. One major event, "Gaza Calling Espoo – Join Us to Pick Up", will take place at & Espoo Theatre on November 15, featuring readings, music, and panel discussions.
Proceeds from these events will be donated to Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) to support humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza. A donation link is also available in social media posts connected to the campaign.
Inspired by a similar initiative in Sweden earlier this year, led by Folkteatern and involving over 20 theatres, the Finnish campaign has grown even larger, encompassing nearly every major theatre in the country. It is supported by national arts organizations, including Suomen Teatterit ry, Esittävän taiteen vapaat yhteisöt ry, the Theatre and Media Workers’ Union (TEME), and the Finnish Actors’ Union.
“Theatre is not only a mirror, it can also be a megaphone,” said Sorjanen. “By reading these children’s words aloud, we make their voices impossible to ignore.”
HT
