I planted a tree
I scorned the fruit
I used its trunk as firewood
I made a lute
And played a tune
I smashed the lute
Lost the fruit
Lost the tune
I wept over the tree
~ ‘Confession at Midday’ by Samih Al- Qasim (1939- 2014)
Izzy Mustafa wrote this piece on the Palestine Land Day:
Dear Friend,
Last week, I flew back to New York from Palestine where I spent the last two months. Leaving my family and friends during this uncertain time is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Despite all the anxiety, my grandmother was worried about only one thing before I left: to make sure I had room in my luggage for her homemade za’atar and the sage she picked by our house. Since I can remember, my grandmother’s first question when we landed back in the United States has been about how her gifts from the land fared on the journey. She wants to make sure that I bring back a piece of the land when I leave Palestine.
Today is Land Day, a day when Palestinians everywhere honor the land and all Palestinians who have struggled for the land. As with all indigenous and colonized people, the Palestinian relationship to land is one of survival. We live off our land and breath from it -- and Israel’s colonization is suffocating us.
We must continue to root our struggle in the land. Two years ago, the world watched as the people of Gaza courageously rose up en masse to demand the right to return to their land. They continue to demand their return even after Israel shot hundreds of marchers dead. Palestinians around the globe stand with them in our collective demand to return.
I am among the few Palestinians who has been lucky enough to be able to experience our land in almost its entirety. Every time I return home, I make it an intention to spend as much time with the soil, the water, and the stones. I have hiked the hills of Jerusalem, walked the valleys of Jericho, sat by the water at Lake Tiberias, swam in the sea off the Jaffa coast, and walked through the olive groves of Hebron. I dream of the day that I walk along the beach in Gaza. I do my work for Palestine with the goal that every single Palestinian has the ability to experience the entirety of her beauty.
I made this video highlighting the beauty of Palestine that I was able to capture during my recent times in my homeland. As the legendary Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish said, “we have on our land, what makes life worth living.”
As Palestinians in the homeland and in the diaspora, we will continue the fight for our right to return to, to live on and to cultivate our land. Today, we remember those who have struggled for our land, and we pay tribute to all who passed down the memories that give us the key to our collective return and liberated future.
For now, I have my grandmother’s zaa’tar and sage as a reminder of the Palestinian connection to the land. This gives me great comfort, especially now.
Wishing you comfort, safety, and health.
Much love,
Izzy Mustafa