Suhail Abu Shawish is repairing traditional Arabic lutes, known as ouds, in a makeshift workshop within the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza [1, 2].

The effort represents a struggle to preserve cultural heritage and artistic tradition amidst a severe shortage of raw materials and displaced living conditions.

Abu Shawish, a displaced Palestinian craftsman, operates his workshop in the camp to keep the tradition of oud music alive [1, 2]. Because standard tonewoods are unavailable, he has turned to unconventional sources to find materials that can withstand the tension of the instrument's strings.

He now sources timber from the remnants of humanitarian shipments. "There is no wood available, so we have resorted to buying scrap wood from food aid crates to make soundboards for ouds," Abu Shawish said [1].

The process involves repurposing the scrap wood to create the soundboards, which are critical for the instrument's resonance. By utilizing the wood from food-aid crates, the craftsman is able to restore damaged instruments that would otherwise remain silent, ensuring that the music continues despite the surrounding conflict.

This practice of improvisation allows the local community to maintain a connection to their musical roots. The oud is a central instrument in Arabic music, and the ability to repair these instruments in a refugee camp setting highlights the resilience of local artisans [1, 2].

“Suhail Abu Shawish is repairing traditional Arabic lutes, known as ouds, in a makeshift workshop.”

The use of humanitarian aid packaging to repair musical instruments underscores the extreme scarcity of basic resources in Gaza's refugee camps. It demonstrates how cultural preservation often relies on makeshift innovation when formal supply chains are severed by conflict, turning symbols of survival—food crates—into tools for artistic endurance.