Fatima Mahmoud

Last part of Syria trip back in autumn 2025. My last few days in Syria. I hate goodbyes and the vulnerability of it. I also hate hellos when things are not the same anymore. I visited my old school and met my old teachers, my sweet teachers who still miss us to this day and told us that our class was the best they’ve ever had. They said I changed, I used to be bubbly and mischievous, and now I’m calmer. On my last day my dad took us on a road trip to our summer house, my hometown, and the areas that were affected the most by the dictator. It broke my heart seeing all of it, the destruction, the smell of death, the smell of despair, and the silence that never existed before. And what broke my heart the most was the moment we tried to unlock the house where I was born and raised, the key didn’t work. I was so close, I wanted to go inside to remember my childhood, to remember my early days. And it didn’t work. So we just left. My mom had a tradition where every time we visit our summer house she would make a bouquet of flowers, then I would take pictures of it or with it. but after we left, there was no one to appreciate the beauty of these flowers. They were left alone with no one. Just like the people of Syria, the people of Al yarmouk camp. And on my way back, I flew over Palestine. I saw her for the first time ever.

New Acquisition!! Draw me a homeland by Nour Alkheder Doc 19' 2025 Netherlands -- This documentary portrays Fatime, Sha’am, and Anas as they navigate their integration journey. It explores their search for identity in a foreign land and the feeling of being seen not as a person but as a file. Through three stages; denial, waiting, and rooting, they ask: can you truly take root elsewhere when the ground seems to reject you? -- Screenwriter & Director: Nour Alkheder Cinematography: Max van de Pol Editor: Jacco Rienks Cast Anas Al Halabi, Sha’am Hassan & Fatima Mahmoud Gaffer: Niels Lokhorst Production Design: Emmi van Schoot Production Sound Mixer: Sanne Breij Sound design: Jeroen Arkenbout, Gido Julio Rikken Re-recording mixer: Maarten van Huissteden VFX: Wouter Lichtenbelt, Marius Ruijs Composer: Pepijn Peeters Producer: Roosmarijn Hopman, Mayra Soares Netherlands Film Academy -- Check out the press kit in the bio

Join us for Iftar & more ! ✨ Ramadan is a month of reflection, community, Iman, and generosity—a time to come together and share. But for many in the diaspora and those in exile, it can feel isolating. That’s why we are organizing this event! We hope to see you there <3 📅 Thursday 12-03-2026 📍 Location: Lulofstraat 59, The Hague (Laak) 🕕 Walk-in: 18:00 🌅 Iftar (sunset): Around 18:42 💓registration link in bio (free of charge) After iftar, we will have a prayer session, board games, books by @iejaz.nl and a storytelling session by @anas_al_halabi !!! Feel free to bring your own board games and a prayer mat if you have one. ‼️free Iftar but sign up is mandatory ! ❤️🌙 link in bio‼️ This event is open to everyone, whether you are Muslim or not. We invite you to join us with an open heart and a spirit of respect for all. Tabaria and Dooorp do not tolerate any form of discrimination, racism, or sexism toward any of our guests. Poster by @oldfriendinc Made possible by @rabbanifoundation 🩷 انضموا إلينا للإفطار وصلاة المغرب! ✨ الأماكن محدودة، فسارعوا بالحجز! رمضان شهر التأمل، والإيمان ، والكرم—فرصة لنكون معًا ونتشارك هذه اللحظات المباركة. لكن بالنسبة للكثيرين في المهجر والمنفى، قد يشعرنا هذا الشهر بالوحدة والعزلة. لهذا السبب، نرغب في أن نحتفل رمضان معًا، ونخلق مساحة دافئة للجميع، سواء كنتم بعيدين أو قريبين عن الوطن. 🗓 التاريخ: الخميس، 12 مارس 2026 📍 المكان: Lulofstraat 59, The Hague (Laak) ⏰ الوقت: الأبواب تفتح عند 18:00 | الإفطار عند 18:42 احجزوا تذاكركم الآن! الإفطار مجاني💓 هذا الإفطار مفتوح للجميع، سواء كنت مسلمًا أم لا. ندعوك للحضور بقلبٍ منفتح وبروحٍ مليئة بالاحترام للجميع. لا تتسامح طبريا مع أي شكل من أشكال التمييز أو العنصرية أو التحيّز الجنسي تجاه أي من ضيوفنا.

Part 2 of Syria!!! I spent a lot of time at @kahwealmafrak and slowly made myself a regular to feel like I belong here, visited an antique shop with old Syrian tatreez thobs (the one in the video is Bedouin) and an autumn bazaar to see @palestinegirlsclub and bought a beautiful handmade scarf + wallet. Exchanged a lot of money and carried a small little bag which made me feel like a gangster. Barely ate much but I was always snacking on foul, and corn. And I got ice cream as a gift from the restaurant!!!!! So sweet🥰 one of the worker’s daughters lives in the Netherlands and he chatted with me and asked me why I’m coming here when everyone is trying to leave. Also I had a very yummy falafel saj sandwich 😋😋

Part 1 of Syria I have so much to say about my trip to Syria, yet I find myself struggling to get it out of me. I’ve hugged my friends and aunts 8 years after the last time i saw them. What can I say about this? How can I describe this feeling? It’s impossible no matter how much I try. The only way I can describe it: surreal, dreamy, and emotionally heavy. On my first few days, I went to buy a SIM card, I struggled with counting the money so I gave a big stack of cash to the woman so she can count it for me, and she did it so effortlessly. Unlike me. I went to Al shaalan to get a falafel sandwich, sat at an overpriced cafe with Muhammad and my sister. I saw my other two besties, hala and shahed, my friend shahed took me on a quick drive around the neighborhood and we drove past the house I lived in after being displaced of my hometown that became a warzone. Then we went to her house and we had a table of snacks, shisha, and memories. They kept on saying how they can’t believe that I’m actually sitting here with them. And I kept on saying how surreal this feels. On another day we went to Al Anwar mini market, which was my go to store throughout the years I lived in Damascus, I would go there after school, after playtime, or whenever my mom needed something from there. They relocated to the space next door, and this was the first time I visit their new space. It changed a lot, just like me. I was worried whether they’ll recognize me or not, the guy stared at me for a minute, and then asked if he knows me from somewhere because I look familiar. And my heart started racing. I said yes with a happy face. I used to come here all the time 8 years ago. And he said oh it’s you fatuum! Yes it’s me fatuum!

A mini Syria photo post to influence you to come to our pop up next week in Rotterdam at @tentrotterdam Come buy the special mini Kuffiyas I ordered in Syria! Handmade with love 💕 SATURDAY 13 OF DECEMBER FROM 2PM-9PM #dirtysahlab all night

Join us on Saturday, 13 December, for our 6th pop-up in collaboration with @placeholder.tent at TENT Rotterdam. 🎟️ Tickets in bio 📍 TENT, Coolhaven 32, 3024 AC Rotterdam 🕐 2PM–9PM More details soon. As the year comes to a close, we knew we could not end it without centering Palestine — not as a theme, but as a lived reality. December also holds layered meanings: it marks the fall of Assad, a turning point that invites Syrians to reflect on a year of liberation from dictatorship and on a future beyond repression. And while dates shift, the truth remains: the violence of the Zionist regime across Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria reminds us that solidarity must stay unwavering and rooted in shared struggle. This extends to our Sudanese siblings, who continue to endure devastating violence, mass displacement, and an ongoing genocide. Our struggles are interconnected, and so is our liberation. What to expect: • Food & coffee by Tabaria Café • Music and poetry by SWANA artists • Artist and small-business merch • Free Arabic calligraphy workshop (3–6PM) • Crafts corner for protest pins & accessories • Access to the exhibition Sun, Don’t Rush to be Red. Son, Don’t Rush to be Read Who is @placeholder.tent ? A growing platform committed to creating meaningful, supportive spaces for young people. This pop-up brings both our platforms together to build community, foster dialogue, and ground our work in solidarity. 50% of tabaria’s proceeds will be donated to sameer project. Hope to see you there! Supported by: lutfia Rabbani Foundation and Fonds21 Poster by @oldfriendinc أشوفك وين يا مهاجر؟ انضمّوا إلينا يوم السبت، 13 ديسمبر، في سادس فعالية بوب-أب لنا بالتعاون مع @Placeholder في TENT روتردام. ماذا ينتظركم خلال الفعالية؟ • طعام وقهوة من مقهى طبريا الثقافي • موسيقى وشعر يقدّمها فنانون من منطقة جنوب غرب آسيا وشمال أفريقيا (SWANA) • منتجات فنية وحرفية لفنانين وأصحاب مشاريع محليين • ورشة خط عربية مجانية من 3 إلى 6 مساءً • زاوية للحِرَف لتصميم دبابيس وأكسسوارات احتجاجية • المعرض "Sun, Don’t Rush to be Red. Son, Don’t Rush to be Read" سيكون مفتوحًا للزوار طوال اليوم بدعم من: مؤسسة لطفية ربانيّ و Fonds21

Listen to our show on the dates (more dates will be added later ) on the poster on Tabaria café was born from a dream of resistance in Fatima Mahmoud’s bedroom, a response to exile and the ongoing genocide. What started as an idea has grown into a sanctuary of solidarity, community, and collective care for Palestinians and the broader SWANA diaspora in the Netherlands. Tabaria is a travelling cafe, moving from space to space — from festivals to fundraisers, community kitchens to cultural gatherings. Every pop-up is a temporary home created through collective effort, where strangers become guests and guests become family. Living in the diaspora or exile makes it challenging to be heard without concealing aspects of our identity to “blend in” with the Western world. Here, we embrace and celebrate our authentic selves, ensuring our stories are told and understood. Through “Echoes of Diaspora”, Fatima and Pedro would like to create a (digital) space where talent/artists from the Tabaria Café community can share their work. These artists are essential as cultural pillars of resistance and resilience. Fatima is a 22 year old Palestinian born and raised in Syria. She is a student and the mother of Tabaria café. As Palestinian born in exile, Fatima has always tried various ways to reconnect with her roots and culture. After the success of Tabaria’s first pop-up in January ‘24, she decided to fully commit to growing Tabaria’s solidarity outreach through community events - somewhat similar to the community she lost after leaving Syria. Pedro Latas is a composer, performer and creative coder hailing from Portugal. Driven by the struggle for body autonomy and integrity, Pedro wishes to engage in radical acts of appreciation of - and care for - the human body, finding beauty and power in all the limitations it entails. Through these acts, Pedro hopes that radical acts of solidarity towards one another will naturally arise. Beyond compositional work, their practice also delves into collective free-improvisation, occasional DJ’ing and radio broadcasting. Poster by @oldfriendinc

‘25 August, September

Today we are unveiling the new edition of our Open Letters by Fatima Mahmoud titled رسالة من المنفى (a letter from exile). Her letter speaks to the quiet urgency of a heart turned numb by relentless resistance. It captures the fading of feeling—the heavy silence where once lived deep connection to life, to self, and to Palestine. Through words born of exhaustion and grief, it seeks to reclaim the fragile spark of humanity amid overwhelming pain. This is a call to witness the intimate struggle of holding on to identity and feeling in times of witnessing a genocide.  OPEN LETTERS — رسالة من المنفى (a letter from exile) by Fatima Mahmoud 📅 On view Wednesday 3 September – Tuesday 30 September ✉️ Vernissage & activation: 14 September | 17:00 – 19:00 On 14 September Fatima Mahmoud will activate her letter together with Danielle Maxwell-Fraser by reading letters about diaspora, exile and living far away from their homeland.  Open Letters is an annual project offering artists and writers in The Hague a platform to share urgent and vulnerable messages. This project is made possible with the support of @mondriaanfonds and @gemeentedenhaag . Special thanks to @attachmentissues_nl for adding magic to our Open Letters! Page Not Found is a Centre for Artistic Publishing in The Hague. We are open Wednesday – Sunday, 13:00 – 18:00. #pagenotfound #denhaag #openletters

‘25 July | June | May Life is weird isn’t it

Honored to be featured in this powerful portrait by @noreenriepma as part of the “Verre Gezichten Dichterbij” exhibition. It felt weird seeing myself in a painting bigger than me. There was a dark aura around me. The portrait was made a few months after October 7th, during a time I barely felt real. It was based on pages from my notebook, filled with heavy, quiet thoughts. Since then, I haven’t really known how to express myself. Most of the time, I don’t even know how I feel. Just a deep disconnection from myself. Last chance to see it is this weekend at domkerk in Utrecht