. ﾟ｡ ₍ ꙳⸌♡⸍꙳ ₎ ｡ﾟ.

Maha el-Sakka wearing a traditional beaded thobe, and raising the Palestinian flag. Photo taken in 1985.

How does it impact my spiritual beliefs?

How does it impact my sense of self?

How does it impact my groundedness?

How does it impact my sense of safety, or families safety?

How does it impact my sense of control?

Ability to be alone or with others?

How does it impact my relationship to my body?”

“I have at times never felt so unsafe in the world and worried for my own families emotional, mental and physical health. I have never felt such a pull to isolate and spend time with myself, when I know it is better for me to be in community. I have never felt so alive in my body, yet such discomfort within it, some days puking at the sight of my kin being slaughtered alongside other physical responses. I have never felt so grounded yet also uprooted. I have never felt so much faith yet feeling a loss of control. And still, I struggle with the tipping point into burnout as I continue this work 5 months in, while knowing I must sustain resistance alongside care work.

And so, I offer you some journalling questions to assess your own burnout, check in with yourself to practice awareness in order to continue doing the work of liberation.”

Hiba Abu Nada, from I Grant You Refuge (trans. Huda Fakhreddine)

“Palestinian girl runs through a row of Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem's Old City.”

Ariha, Palestine. Photo taken in 1993 by Mike Goldwater

أحنُّ إلى خبز أُمي وقهوة أُمي ولمسة أُمي.. وتكبرُ فيَّ الطفولةُ يومًا على صدر يومِ وأعشَقُ عمرِي لأني إذا مُتُّ، أخجل من دمع أُمي

Frontispiece. British butterflies. 1860.

Tooting, South London - 2007