Path to Liberation

This piece depicts the path to liberation for Palestinians, representing the current moment we are in, towards where destiny will lead us. Liberation will be achieved when Palestinians are able to return to their native homeland with the capacity to heal from the generational trauma caused by decades of occupation, war, and displacement. 

Health care is political from the Bay area to Palestine. In Oakland and across the United States of America, there are communities with no grocery stores, parks, or hospitals in sight. The US chooses to send billions of taxpayer dollars to fund decades of genocide in Palestine and does not invest in its own communities. Communities from Oakland to Gaza have the ability to heal themselves when properly resourced and free from the imperial gaze. 

The peace depicts a community healing circle in the foreground, a Dabke (traditional Levantine folk dance) line in the middle ground, and the Gaza shoreline in the background.

The healing circle features multiple healing modalities including Somatics (tapping, somatic hug) and the 5 Needle Protocol in acupuncture, which was popularized by the Black Panther Party in the 1970’s. The circle also includes elders singing, and doing Tatreez (embroidery), both elders are wearing Thobes (traditional embroidered dresses) with patterns from the villages of Lifta and Yafa respectively. The woman singing is reciting a line from Mahmoud Darwish’s poem “Revolution is the Path of the Free”. The woman embroidering is sewing on a banner with the phrase “Resist Till Liberation”. Included in the circle are two child amputees, one with a bionic arm and the other with a prosthetic leg.

The Dabke line transitions from dancers wearing more militant dress to cultural attire. Alongside this transition are olive seedlings growing from young to mature olive trees. As Palestinians, we know that our culture is synonymous with resistance, and Dabke is done as a form of celebration as well as resistance from erasure.

The beach includes several odes to our martyrs. We remember our martyrs with a heavy heart and determination to continue their legacies. A white kite is being flown in honor of our martyr Refaat Alareer, a poet, educator, and storyteller. Refaat was murdered by Israel on December 6th 2023. He taught a generation of writers in Gaza how to use their words to resist settler colonialism and imperialism. You can also see Majed Abu Maraheel running along the beach in his Olympics track and field attire. In 1996 Majed became the first Palestinian to be the flag bearer and represent Palestine in the Olympic games. He was martyred on June 12th 2024 due to the medical neglect caused by Israel’s targeting of the medical sector in Gaza. Majed trained the next generation of Palestinian Olympic runners on the Gaza shoreline.

Beyond the shore line in the ocean are four boats carrying the flags of countries that are standing in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine at this moment.

From left to right:

• South Africa: On December 23rd 2023 South Africa brought before the International Court of Justice a case arguing Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The ICJ delivered its opinion on 19 July 2024. It concluded that Israel should put an end to its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, desist from creating new settlements, and evacuate those already established. The ICJ also found Israel as plausibly committed acts of genocide against Palestinians.

• Lebanon: In solidarity with Palestine, Lebanon is holding the northern front militarily. They have vowed to hold their front until Israel halts its aggression on Gaza. 

• Colombia: On June 8 2024, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that his country will suspend coal exports to Israel until the genocide stops. Colombia was Israel’s largest coal exporter (accounted for more than 60 percent of all coal supplied in 2023) showing the world how to put material pressure on Israel.

• Yemen: In solidarity with Palestine Yemen has targeted ships in the Red Sea destined to Israel, costing Israel and its allies billions of dollars. They have vowed to continue the blockade of the Red Sea until the siege on Gaza is lifted.