Almost a year to the day, the founder and director of @phrc_ps , Awni Farhat, agreed to be interviewed about The Witness Book for the @justseeds blog. At the time the publication was in the final editing stages before production.
Bittersweet isn’t the right word, but to see and read this book in its final form that holds so much grief and emotional labor from so many is truly profound. Profoundly heartbreaking. Not only does the reader begin to understand the lifelong impact the ongoing violence and g3nocide of the Palest¡n¡an people since the start of the occupation and the most recent escalations in the last two years. This book is a living archive that gives voice to children of G A Z A. We see the true impacts through their eyes, art and writing. And I hope that those who are able can purchase one or request your library to buy a copy that in turn will support and further the good work @phrc_ps is doing in G A Z A and with children and families who fled to Cairo.
I was also very much impacted by @fatmaaljabari ’s writing in The Witness Book. She is an artist and PHRC Coordinator in G A Z A. May all those on the ground working alongside these children and their families remain protected. The fight isn’t over and in this way their voices and art transcend borders.
Thank you @awnifarhat for generously taking time to share some of your story and the process of making The Witness Book a year ago. I hope you and the PHRC team feels very proud of this self published accomplishment.
You can ORDER A COPY or DONATE to @phrc_ps by the link in their bio.
(The song is “Yal Tal3een” by @danasalah )
"I'm Chinese and Iranian, and I identify as queer. Growing up, I never felt Iranian enough, Chinese enough, or like I belonged here. I've always been searching for where I'm supposed to be. But over time, I've learned that it's okay to have multiple groups and multiple identities – we are multitudes. We don't have to be one singular thing for anybody’s approval.
“I wanted to be an artist since kindergarten. They asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. I said a teacher. Or an artist. I didn't know then that I could be both at the same time. I was that kid who would spend hours scribbling while my mom cooked in the kitchen. My parents, who came to the US as teenagers and had to build their lives with very little support, have always encouraged my art. I learned from their example – they were always busy but always supporting community. My mom is constantly volunteering. Growing up, they pushed me to excel – I was definitely an overachiever, in all the clubs, playing sports year-round.
“I went to PLU for college. It was actually discouraging at first – I couldn't get into any art classes. But then I studied in Oaxaca, Mexico, and everything changed. I was radicalized by the street art and political art I saw there. Our teacher when visiting a Zapatista community in Chiapas taught us something I'll never forget. When a peer asked how we could help their people, they said, 'Your country's done enough. Go back to your community – there are problems there. Fix those problems.'
“But my journey hasn't been easy. During my research trip back to Oaxaca, one of the artists I befriended, someone who had helped me understand the potential of community art, sexually assaulted me. I came back for my senior year not really understanding what that meant or how it was impacting me. It took me a while to understand how that moment shaped the rest of my life – how I interact with people, how I build trust, and how I utilize art for healing and connection in community. [continued in the comments]
calling all diasporic iranians! rise up for PALEST!NE NOW!
there is a long legacy of radical activism among the iranian diaspora, including organizing in solidarity with Palest!ne. Saiyare and Tala joined forces to bring this legacy to light and carry it forward! we call on diasporic iranians to rise up for Palest1ne right NOW! swipe to the end to see an original solidarity poster from 1977 by the Iranian Student Association and the Organization of Arab Student as well as our updated version of it.
it has been very discouraging to see influential Iranians in diaspora sharing zionist propaganda after there has been so much energy within the diaspora around countering militarized police violence of the “women, life, freedom” movement [originally from the kurdish resistance movement from state repression as “jîn – jiyan – azadi”]. the freedom of the palestin1an people from 1sraeli occupation (financially backed by BILLIONS of us taxpayer dollars) should not be any different. as displaced lineages of people dispersed on turtle island and around the globe we are in solidarity with indigenous liberation struggles from Palest!ne to Rojava and beyond.
rise up NOW! support Palest1nian resistance, freedom and life!
the subsequent texts are inspired by a quote from
Indian novelist and activist Arundhati Roy,
“…Non-violence is a piece of theatre. You need an audience. What can you do when you have no audience? People have the right to resist annihilation.”
and to the few iranians (mostly LGBTQIA+ identified iranians in diaspora) continuing to share updates about palestine, we see you, we love you and we know we will continue to fight for bodily autonomy, total abolition and freedom beyond the bounds of state repression and arbitrary borders.
feel free to share the following graphics and keep up the pressure for a CEASEFIRE and to END THE MILITARY OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE:
(image descriptions in comments)
With much grief we mourn the passing of Hector Pelayo-Martinez. He was detained in NWDC for several years and was a fierce advocate for himself and those he was detained with. He continued fighting for those detained after his release. In January of this year he reported being sexually assaulted by Geo “medical” staff. Upon his release he was still being monitored with an ankle bracelet. @laresistencianw learned of his passing on April 20th.
Hector Pelayo joins the altar outside of NWDC alongside José Manuel Sanchez-Castro, Charles Leo Daniel, Cipriano Ríos Alegría and Amar Mergansana.
May they never be forgotten. Shut down NWDC NOW!!!
This video clips are from the Mother’s Day Solidarity Day outside NWDC with @seiu775@seiu6@seiu925@seiuhealthcare1199nw and keep following @laresistencianw for updates and calls to action.
🖼️ by @_saikick_
#FreeThemAll #ChingaLaMigra #AbolishICE #ShutDownNWDC
On this Mother’s Day weekend, @seiu775 , @seiu6 , @seiu925 and @seiuhealthcare1199nw showed up and showed out for mothers detained inside of NWDC.
Follow @laresistencianw for updates and calls to action.
#ChingaLaMigra #AbolishICE #FreeThemAll #ShutDownNWDC
Although their points of view are distinctive, Store Alcove Artists Saiyare Refaei (they/she) and Yoshi Nakagawa (she/her) have followed a similar artistic journey. They are both originally from Oregon, both studied at universities in Tacoma, WA, and they met at El Taller Ruffino Tamayo in Oaxaca, Mexico while taking printmaking classes from Maestro Oswaldo Ramírez. Their collaborative linocut print “Sound” is currently on view in the Store Alcove, and we are endlessly amazed by Saiyare and Yoshi’s ability to create such a cohesive, powerful piece. Stop by to see “Sound” on your next visit, on view through the end of this month.
Thank you to UC Santa Barbara’s Multicultural Center ucsbmcc for having me last week to teach a workshop called Creative Community Care. Thank you to Diane Fujino and Matef Harmachis for making me feel at home and teaching me a lot about Chumash history.
(Photos 1, 6 & 7 are courtesy of Diane.)
@tacomawayzgoose 2026 with @ghost.fish.art !
@ghost.fish.art and I design a print together this year after doing some research in the Northwest Room of the @tacomalibrary . We learned 20,000 acres of the Puyallup Valley was farmed by Japanese families prior to their forced incarceration during WWII. One common thread Kip and I had through this process was that Kip was an intern at Heart Mountain and I had volunteered with @minidokapilgrimage , both historic concentration camp sites. It was importantly for us to share this history, honor those who helped feed Tacoma and make the connection of immigrant farm worker populations who are still being targeted for detainment.
Thank you to @chrissharp3000 as our streamroller truck driver! Thank you clean hands crew including @brooksdentalstudio and @printzerostudios !
Thank you بابا and @vernonfiloteong for these photos and video clips 🫶🏼
Thank you @tacomawayzgoose for another amazing print festival!
@ghost.fish.art and I design a print together this year after doing some research in the Northwest Room of the @tacomalibrary . We learned 20,000 acres of the Puyallup Valley was farmed by Japanese families prior to their forced incarceration during WWII. One common thread Kip and I had through this process was that Kip was an intern at Heart Mountain and I had volunteered with @minidokapilgrimage , both historic concentration camp sites. It was importantly for us to share this history, honor those who helped feed Tacoma and make the connection of immigrant farm worker populations who are still being targeted for detainment.
Thank you to @tacomawayzgoose for the invitation to design this year’s poster that made it into a silkscreen design printed by the @shroombrothers . And to share a presentation with fellow vendors about my printmaking journey Friday evening.
Thank you to @vernonfiloteong and @a_wild_nut for helping me run the @justseeds table.
Welcome to Tacoma @sabertoothstudio ! We are so lucky to have you!
Thanks to all the buds and my parents who came through! Big shout out to all the volunteers from our steamroller truck driver to clean hands crew and more who made it such a great time.
(📸 2,4,6 from بابا and 1, 3,5, 13 & 16 thanks to @vernonfiloteong )
Happy International Worker’s Day! Find me at @tacomawayzgoose tabling for @justseeds today and tomorrow from 10 am - 5 pm. Each table had a free educational component so you can come make a free Work Together print too!
Another cool new sticker from @_saikick_ drops today! This sticker was designed for Mariame Kaba's and Interruption Criminalization's art exhibition reception "Return to Sender: Prison as Censorship" in New York that ran through September through October of 2023. Find this at Justseeds! 🔗
!["I'm Chinese and Iranian, and I identify as queer. Growing up, I never felt Iranian enough, Chinese enough, or like I belonged here. I've always been searching for where I'm supposed to be. But over time, I've learned that it's okay to have multiple groups and multiple identities – we are multitudes. We don't have to be one singular thing for anybody’s approval.“I wanted to be an artist since kindergarten. They asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. I said a teacher. Or an artist. I didn't know then that I could be both at the same time. I was that kid who would spend hours scribbling while my mom cooked in the kitchen. My parents, who came to the US as teenagers and had to build their lives with very little support, have always encouraged my art. I learned from their example – they were always busy but always supporting community. My mom is constantly volunteering. Growing up, they pushed me to excel – I was definitely an overachiever, in all the clubs, playing sports year-round.“I went to PLU for college. It was actually discouraging at first – I couldn't get into any art classes. But then I studied in Oaxaca, Mexico, and everything changed. I was radicalized by the street art and political art I saw there. Our teacher when visiting a Zapatista community in Chiapas taught us something I'll never forget. When a peer asked how we could help their people, they said, 'Your country's done enough. Go back to your community – there are problems there. Fix those problems.'“But my journey hasn't been easy. During my research trip back to Oaxaca, one of the artists I befriended, someone who had helped me understand the potential of community art, sexually assaulted me. I came back for my senior year not really understanding what that meant or how it was impacting me. It took me a while to understand how that moment shaped the rest of my life – how I interact with people, how I build trust, and how I utilize art for healing and connection in community. [continued in the comments]](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6745385524145829631461_0_c4ae6e0dab2d055d8529ff2fea0b2629.jpg?o=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&h=d82e7a4db3f16051ab2607c5c15fad48)
![calling all diasporic iranians! rise up for PALEST!NE NOW!there is a long legacy of radical activism among the iranian diaspora, including organizing in solidarity with Palest!ne. Saiyare and Tala joined forces to bring this legacy to light and carry it forward! we call on diasporic iranians to rise up for Palest1ne right NOW! swipe to the end to see an original solidarity poster from 1977 by the Iranian Student Association and the Organization of Arab Student as well as our updated version of it.it has been very discouraging to see influential Iranians in diaspora sharing zionist propaganda after there has been so much energy within the diaspora around countering militarized police violence of the “women, life, freedom” movement [originally from the kurdish resistance movement from state repression as “jîn – jiyan – azadi”]. the freedom of the palestin1an people from 1sraeli occupation (financially backed by BILLIONS of us taxpayer dollars) should not be any different. as displaced lineages of people dispersed on turtle island and around the globe we are in solidarity with indigenous liberation struggles from Palest!ne to Rojava and beyond.rise up NOW! support Palest1nian resistance, freedom and life!the subsequent texts are inspired by a quote fromIndian novelist and activist Arundhati Roy,“…Non-violence is a piece of theatre. You need an audience. What can you do when you have no audience? People have the right to resist annihilation.”and to the few iranians (mostly LGBTQIA+ identified iranians in diaspora) continuing to share updates about palestine, we see you, we love you and we know we will continue to fight for bodily autonomy, total abolition and freedom beyond the bounds of state repression and arbitrary borders.feel free to share the following graphics and keep up the pressure for a CEASEFIRE and to END THE MILITARY OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE:(image descriptions in comments)](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6855596839362814475424_0_1285f5a34dc76aaaf097f59af9315417.jpg?o=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&h=c1c0d771bfbc1d964b9ff9df0d361ff8)
