Giving girls and boys a voice: perhaps this is the way to give meaning back to humanity, to find that empathy that has now been lost. You never think about it, don’t you think so?that giving weight to them, to future generations, to what they experience, what they suffer, what they hope for, could help us to rename the world, to narrate it from the right side.
In this first quarter of the new century we have committed sins that have the brutal flavor of the 20th century. It is not true that retracing history teaches us not to repeat the mistakes of the past, if that necessary “retracing history” is downgraded to “school trip” almost conspiracy-like (obviously I am referring to Roccella’s words).
Among those who deny from state networks that nothing was committed by Israel (“There is not a single piece of evidence that Israel has machine-gunned unarmed civilians in Gaza” – Incoronata Boccia, director of the Rai press office) and those who on those same networks distort the words of another journalist (“It serves to remember the 250 men and women journalists who died trying to cover what a UN Commission report defined as a genocide” – Alessandro Antinelli, with a black bow on the collar of his jacket before the match in Udine between Italy and Israel), there is a different voice.
It’s that of Geppi Cucciarireturned to TV last night with the new season of Gorgeous Frame on Rai 3. Among the guests of the evening Renad Atallahthe 11-year-old Palestinian girl who became famous on social media for the recipes prepared by the Gaza Strip with humanitarian aid.
We talk about it here: Renad Attallah, who is the 10 year old girl who brings hope back to Gaza with her video recipes
Already present in the program last year, Geppi Cucciari now wanted her in the studio. And it’s immediately emotional.
It’s very difficult to find, with a child your age, something to say that makes sense. But everything that brought us here, to this study, makes no sense. I feel really helpless and you are the symbol of all these children who have lost a parent, two parents, who are still there in Gaza.
Now Renad lives in Holland, thanks to a scholarship obtained by his older sister:
Everything here is beautiful, not like in Gaza where there was only bombing – says the little girl, talking about going to school, one of the things she has missed most in these two years of war, and dreams of opening a restaurant in the Gaza Strip.
I lost so much, everything a child should have, says Renad.
His greatest desire now is to return to his family.
Geppi Cucciari then becomes emotional:
You are the symbol of all injustices – he says to the little girl – I’m sorry that the world did this to a little girl like you.
Who is Renad Attallah, the little chef who escaped from Gaza and cooked with humanitarian aid
He is only 11 years old, but in Renad Attallah’s eyes there is already the strength of someone who has seen too much. Until a few months ago he lived in Deir al-Balahin the heart of the Gaza Strip, where the war leaves no respite and hunger has become a daily companion. There, among the rubble and fear, Renad found his own way to resist: cooking.
On his Instagram and TikTok profile, Renad from Gazawhich went viral in a few months, the little girl showed recipes created with humanitarian aid rations: flour, lentils, some spices, sometimes just bread and sugar. Behind those clips shot with a fragile smile there was a very strong message: even in total darkness, something good can be created.
His older sister had opened the profile for him, Nourhanin March 2024, to help her pass the time during the endless days without school, under the Israeli bombs. Today, fortunately, Renad’s life has taken a different turn.
Since August 2025 he has been living in the Netherlands, together with his twin brother Adam and Nourhan, who obtained a scholarship at Maastricht University. Their escape was possible thanks to Unicef, which organized the trip from Gaza to Jordan and then to Europe. “Two terrible days“, he says, but part of the family remained there, in Deir al-Balah: the mother and four brothers who Renad hopes to hug again soon.
Today the little girl has become an ambassador for the Canadian NGO Human Concern International, with which she collaborates to raise funds for the Palestinian people. A little girl who, from a spoon and a bowl, built a voice for those who no longer have one.
Life isn’t perfect, but it’s getting better.
Thanks Renad, thanks Geppi.
