I was invited to my very first Iftar last night, which just happened to be in the same space where these beautiful icons to the martyrs of and for Palestine were on display; faces we grew up with and names we’ve tearfully gotten to know too well.
Four panels of eight; four panels symbolizing the “too many” taken too cruelly and too soon.
I’d reached out to the artists before realizing that I’d end up at this Iftar and see them for myself. A romantic would call it “qadar.”
I’d reached out to @dianafakhoury and @bradytheblack to invite them to take part in a “People’s Gallery” in this year’s @nwfolklife, a project led by the @marchforpalestine.seattle Community Archive initiative and supported by @seattledsa’s Art & Culture Team.
It’s an incredible opportunity to showcase and celebrate “art which represents people’s joy, their resistance to oppression, resilience in the face of hardship, and reciprocity and community care for one another,” under Folklife’s broader theme of Ubuntu.
If I know you, expect me to contact you soon! If I don’t and you identify with this theme, DM me!
I ended up here thanks to @fababs of all people, who introduced me to @khalid_el_salad, a comrade and (as I joked with his friends) larger than life character who impresses and teaches me something new every time he opens his mouth, mashallah.
Khaled’s apparently made it his mission to introduce me to his community — my community — that I’ve circled at various protests and events, recognizing faces “min b3eed la b3eed,” but never approaching for reasons only God truly knows.
Something a comrade I met yesterday said was quite sobering, though: ‘if people are dying back home, I can walk up to people and say hello.’
Damn.
Right?
I’m grateful for the reality check as I make my way towards the next big threshold experience in my life, hopefully checking some baggage at the door.