Art as Rebellion, as Revolution, as Peace.

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As many are aware by now, no matter how much we in the states get distracted by the day to day; the day to day being consumerism, political shenanigans, wildfires, shootings, affording rent— there is no way to say one isn't aware of the massacre that has affected the Palestinian people for over three years now. In actuality, it is a decades long battle of eugenics and hate and war. My goal isn't to discuss the history, or the U.S influence, although it is heavy and it has been to the detriment of the Palestinian people. I want to talk art and film, to discuss what war does to being a filmmaker and artist in lands where one is not free, and how art is so important in these times.

There are two specific artists I want to discuss here; a poet and a filmmaker. The poet, Refaat Alareer, was murdered in a bombing in Gaza December 6, 2023. His poem, 'If I Die', gained circulation in online spaces at the start of the bombings; it's poignancy captured as bombs were falling around him, and still he spoke of peace and freedom for his people and his family. He was born in 1979 during the Israeli occupation of the Gaza strip, his life, or much of it, was spent discussing Gaza and it's beauty—and the hope for freedom for his people, for his family, for himself. His poem led the internet on a hunt, for translation, for art, to capture the feeling of his words, the sorrow of his loss, and that he in someway foresaw his death. Maybe living in occupied lands, under tyranny did that, maybe seeing so many harmed around him, all under the U.S and U.N's watchful eyes, led him to this. It led me to reading his poem, I had never heard of him before. The U.S does a decent job of downsizing art from brown men and women.

If I must die, 

you must live 

to tell my story 

to sell my things 

to buy a piece of cloth 

and some strings, 

(make it white with a long tail) 

so that a child, somewhere in Gaza 

while looking heaven in the eye 

awaiting his dad who left in a blaze— 

and bid no one farewell 

not even to his flesh 

not even to himself— 

sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above 

and thinks for a moment an angel is there 

bringing back love 

If I must die 

let it bring hope 

let it be a tale

Powerful and poignant. The first time I heard the poem was a child's voice reading it, over the images of bombings and people dying in horrible awful ways. Inhumane and with little aid, in fact so many still didn't even understand the extent of what was happening in Gaza. It struck me, not solely due to the contents, but because its beautiful too. To ask for hope in your death, to create that hope in your death, to spread your culture and homeland across social medias and have it become an anthem—not just for loss or survival, but for the revolution of hope as well. Joy is revolutionary, and I think that is a huge part of what Refaat was saying. Even in the burning of bodies, in the crushing reality of these massive murders, let there be a kite or something let it shine in the eyes of children. Let it be even the smallest glimmer of hope so that they can grow and rebuild and be strong and rebel against tyranny. Refaat lived and died by these words. He became that hope and that window the world was able to look through and see what was happening. At least, that was the case for me. I am incredibly thankful for his art, his grit, and the hope that he inspired in his people and in the world. He was a teacher; his work lead to the creation of the group We Are Not Numbers, a group of youth writers in Gaza that were able to work together to get their stories and experiences out into the world. He edited the 2014 book, "Gaza Writes Back", which featured stories from Gazan youth. His viral poem "If I Die" was translated into 250 languages, and became a huge anthem for the war on Gaza. He truly used his life to bring light to his people and justice to his lands.

The next artist that Im going to discuss is filmmaker and documentarist Awdah Al Hathaleen. An activist and artist living in the West Bank. As a quick rundown for anyone unaware; there are two larger territories that make up Palestine— the Gaza strip, and the West Bank. Were all aware of how the Gazan strip has been decimated, but the West Bank is different. There is where Palestinian people have to face off against Israeli settlers day to day, who often times are trying to take the homes of Palestinian families. There are streets blocked off so Palestinian people can't access regular roads, water and other necessities—and so settlers don't have to deal with them, and there is also the issue of the Palestinian Authority(PA) not having the rights or access to their taxes or even water. An illegal occupation. Awdah had been working tirelessly over the years, not just as a teacher but also with filmmakers Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, and Yuval Abraham to capture life for Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and the destruction that comes with that. Life does imitate art as events that happened in the Oscar winning documentary, "No Other Land" are pretty much exactly what occurred to Awdah. An angry settler with a bulldozer opened fire by the community center that Awdah often took care of, and Awdah was gone. His body taken by Israeli police and not returned for several days, which knowingly goes against the Palestinian traditions of immediate burial and rest. The film that he worked on was a powerful display of the terrors that Palestinian people have to deal with on the day to day, the film captures the moments activists Harun Abu Aram is shot and paralyzed by an Israeli soldier, while he was trying to protect his electric generator from being stolen. He later dies from his wounds. The final moments of the film also show an Israeli soldier shooting an unarmed civilian. The film itself captures the difference in living between filmmakers Adra and Abraham, one a Palestianian man struggling to live in occupation and tyranny, and the other a Jewish journalist living in freedom. They form an unlikely friendship and by the end of the movie they wonder what this film will do in the world and if it can create change.

What does it mean to be a filmmaker in occupied lands, where freedom of speech isn't really a thing? For Awdah Al Hathaleen, it still meant death. It also meant teaching, resisting, and creating. He dedicated his life to these things, to teaching his students, to resisting and fighting for his people, and for taking a chance and risk of being a part of a film that showcased injustice. I think that he represents a powerful thing, hope. It takes a lot of will power to dedicate your life to something, and even more so to change so many things and open awareness about injustice, its a very brave thing to do. He did those things, knowing he could die. Being an artist in those circumstances becomes a very important responsibility. A leader, a voice, a way of communicating with the world. "People in this village say they believed the Oscar-winning documentary that helped highlight their struggle with settler violence might bring them a measure of protection — perhaps even lay the groundwork for peace. But just the opposite has happened, laments Basel Adra, one of the film's directors. "Awdah was the most peaceful person," he says. "He was the person that always gathered us — and he was shot in front of the community center that he built for the kids to play and to have summer camp and to learn."" As horrific as Awdah's murder is for the overall fight for justice, his story is still a powerful weapon that hopefully can aide the Palestinian people. Thousands of people were sharing and boosting his story and his death when it happened, and watching the film. It led to me learning about him and his story and also finally watching the film. In today's age it is so much easier to have access to knowledge and to see what is happening across the world, live. It feels evil that it takes a notable death to have their story told louder and be put on the world stage, but it is still something that can help others learn, and resist, and question.

Art is one of our most powerful tools. It informs, it absorbs, it spreads, it speaks to people and for people. It can impart hope, and make change, and give a megaphone to the voices being drowned out by those that want power and money no matter the price. With more and more AI being used in social media and in the world in general it is disheartening to see so many younger people utilizing it instead of learning and writing and creating. I hate AI personally, all my homies hate AI. It can and is being funded by people that want to hold power over the narrative, that don't want the youths learning about injustice, that want to rewrite history, people that recognize the importance of knowledge and art and want to disrupt it. Are there any artists from Palestine that you know of, any that you want to learn about? What about the Congo or Sudan? There are artists and activists everywhere, and they all have powerful things to share, we just need to remember the platforms in our hands and the way that change can happen big and small.