Both Dweik and Amiouni had some poems written about Palestine, but decided to reach out to friends to see if they would like to contribute to the project. “Writing is a way of taking the emotions that were inside my head and everything I was feeling and putting it on paper, when I couldn’t really say it out loud,” said Dweik. On Instagram, they set up an open-call for poets who wished to have their words on Palestine published in a book of which its sales would be given to Dubai Cares, a UAE philanthropic organisation.
In the end, around 100 poets from around the world signed up. “What is powerful about our book is that there are all types of people, all religions, all ages, all genders,” remarked Amiouni. “We wanted this book to be a reminder that beyond our identities there is our humanity which is so much more important.”
The book, which has already been launched in Dubai and London (and there are plans for launching it in Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia), is also an artistic project. The book cover, designed by UK-based artist Chio Fernández, features a digital drawing of iconic symbols of Palestine (including a dove, a keffiyeh scarf, an orange branch, and the Dome of the Rock), all sitting within the frame of a Palestinian postage stamp. The book is also filled with natural, whimsical, and spiritual illustrations, done by graphic designer Sama Alameddine, based on topics each poem goes into.
Through their writings, the poets expressed words of pain, remembrance, and hope. One poet wrote: “Where I come from, people walk upon mass graves. Where I come from, people walk upon my child. Where I come from, buildings fall upon my child. Where I come from, children beg foreign leaders for their lives.” Another contributor penned: “To be Palestinian is to know death before living, to know pain yet still forgiving.”
