@afeefnessouli: “I was one of the people who was stuck in [Yarmouk] camp” Saleh grew up in Yarmouk, Syria’s largest Palestinian refugee camp. Yarmouk was the site of heavy fighting for the last 14 years of the Syrian civil war. It was forcefully starved and depopulated, and ISIS and other militias fought the Assad regime throughout where he grew up. Saleh had to wield a gun at the age of 12 to defend himself. Eventually he escaped to Lebanon. When he got there, Saleh joined the Palestinian resistance in order to survive, find community and spend time fighting for Palestine’s liberation. But many years ago, Saleh decided to dedicate his life to resisting in a new way: opening his own commune for artists, journalists and thinkers to have open dialogue about difficult subjects in Beirut. Saleh once told me he feels like a tree who has had to bend backwards because of how hard the wind has blown at him his entire life. He says bending was his only choice to avoid breaking in half. Instead of talking to one another online about the geopolitics of the region or what we think is going on, we should pass the mic over and listen to people who have stories to tell us. Please donate to Saleh and Beit al-Atlas’ Go Fund Me— they could really use your support right now (link in bio). #journalism #foryou #fyp #explore #explorepage #insta #instagram #tiktok

Afeef T. Nessouli

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Tuesday 17 December 2024 00:53:47 GMT