Threads of Legacy: How The Haleemah Project Uses Tatreez to Give Back

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Mahaban, welcome back to Siddhi Stories, the podcast that honors and amplifies the voices of Palestinian women across generations. Linda is the force behind the Khadima Project, an initiative that quite literally transforms everyday garments into wearable stories, all while the proceeds go right back to helping those in full esteem. Linda, I'm so honored to have you on Sitti Stories. Welcome.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

So we always start with a Sitti-inspired question as our icebreaker. We would love to know what your favorite meal of your Sitti was.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

I mean, my teta is such a good cook. It's really hard to pick one, but she's really good at making sachan. I would love for her to teach me how to make it, but it's one recipe I haven't learned from hers yet. And I don't know if I could ever replicate that.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

Um don't sell yourself short, girl. Like, why not? Learn from her while she's still here. Yeah. Alhamdulillah, while she's still here. Learn from her so that you could make it as good as she is, or even if it's like half as good as she does it. And then you could make it for your own kids, inshallah, one day in the future. InshaAllah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:24

One day, one day I'll go back to Aman and I'll be like, Taita, teach me.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

Yeah, or get her to do it over FaceTime and just start.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Never, you know. I've tried that before because I learned Tataris from her as well. And like when I came back and I had a lot of questions, I would try to do it over FaceTime. It was so bad. I couldn't see what I was doing.

unknown 1:45

No. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

Yeah. Okay. So Linda, before we dive into the Harima project, I'd love for our listeners to get to know you a little bit better. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, like where you grew up and what Benad you're from, and just kind of a general overview of who Linda is?

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Yeah. Um, so I'm from Edmonton, Canada, and I was born and raised here. And I think I had that typical diaspora upbringing where, you know, we a lot of our interests and the language we speak is very Western, but we have very strong eastern roots. And, you know, I think that definitely translated into every facet of my life and like who I am as a person. For example, I love music and I love like Broadway and musicals like Hairspray and Rent. But then the other half of me is like my heart is with the old Arabi music, like Ferus and Sabah and Asiel Halani and all of that. And I think that kind of sums me up as a person. But the other thing I probably most attribute to myself is, you know, art and creation. I love tatters mainly, but I have a lot of hobbies. I crochet, I draw. I'm learning how to play guitar right now, which is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Oh, that's pretty cool. Do you know how to play hood? No.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

I would love to though. There's way more strings. Yeah. I feel like guitar is a step to the hood. Because I think it's like 12 strings.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

Well, I have no idea. I don't have a musical bone in my body. I have no idea. I applaud you for even trying. I was just saying that it would be so cool since you know you love all the old school like classic singers and stuff, and a lot of their stuff have road in it. And so that would be so cool for you to learn that. But so you are a creative old soul would be how we would describe you. What bed are you from? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Um, so both sides of my family are from Al-Habbasi, and it's a small town in the Yafa district, and it was pretty much an agricultural town. Mostly orange trees, but of course they grew other things like olives and wheat. But yeah, both sides of my family were olive tree farmers, and I think about that a lot. How I was supposed to grow up on an olive tree farm near the Mediterranean Sea, and I'm stuck here in really cold, cold Canadian winters.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

I don't know why, but you saying that gave me chills just because it puts into perspective the way that we were supposed to live our lives. Yeah. And how like one turn can change that whole trajectory of your life. I was raised in Folkstein for a couple years when I was little, but I live in Chicago now, and I always tell my husband, I was not meant for this cold. I don't know how I see people walking outside with no jackets and I'm having to be like extra bundled and I'm still frozen. And I clearly, this was not supposed to be my life. No, but seriously, hearing a little bit about your background and where your family's from and your ancestors, it kind of really shows why you chose to start the Hanima project. So I would love for you to share what the Hanima project is and what inspired that and how that came to be.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Yeah, so I mean the formation of the project I think really started back when I finished university. Something in me wanted to learn Tatriz. And subhanAllah, I felt this pull. And looking back then, I feel like Allah knew that this is where it would lead. And I was so determined to learn. And my mom at that point, she had been out of practice for almost 20 years, so she couldn't really teach me. And there was no online Tatriz community then, like there is in the last, you know, year or so. And so trying to find places to learn was so difficult. And I was bugging my mom, I was so annoying. And then one day she looked at me, she was like, just go visit your Teta, she'll teach you. And I'm not kidding, within a week, I think I had my tickets booked and I convinced my sister to go with me. And we went back to Amman, and like that was the first thing. I walked off the plane, I was like, Teta, teach me tatries. Yeah, and I think that kind of really laid the foundation of the project. And then cut to like October of 2023. I know we all felt it. Like we woke up ready to do our morning social media doom scrolls. And we are our feeds were just filled with just horrific scenes. I obviously were in a privileged position where we just get to watch it on our phones, and they're the ones that have to live through it every day. But during that first month, especially, I was just very, I felt very like broken. I felt very helpless. I had no idea what to do or how to help. And I would make dua every night, you know, Allah make me useful, Allah give me a sense of purpose. And subhanAllah, I also turned to Tataris at this time and I made like a sweater for my brother. And then my other brothers asked me to do the same for them. Uh I just stitched something on like the top corner. And then there was also this like viral story template of like share your Palestinian grandparents. And I took part in it and I shared my grandmother's story online, and it just blew up. I got so many responses, so many people telling me their own stories, so many people wanting to share this story. And that night, like my mom and I were talking about it, and my brother, who had been trying to convince me to stitch on his friend's clothes, uh, just said, Why don't you do tatturies for donations and you could name it the Halima Project? Like he's actually the one who came up with the name. Kudos to your brother. I know, kudos to Ahmed. He wants his credit. I couldn't stop thinking about it. That night I w couldn't sleep. It wouldn't leave my brain. It was like Allah was yelling at me, like, go make the page, do it right now. So I did, and then subhanAllah, it blew up bigger than I ever thought it could, and I'm still in shock. Like, I think my goal was, oh, it would be cool if I could do up to 50 sweaters or something. And now I've done, I don't know, I feel like we've done like almost 300 or four. If there's just so many I know.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

That's amazing. So, gee, you take people's already existing garments, right? And they send it in. And then do they tell you like what they want stitched on there?

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Yeah. So usually I'll talk to them do they want traditional tartarez or do they want more symbols of resistance? And then I I'll talk to them to sort of figure out what is it that's important to you, or even like what colors or what town are you from. And then I try to create a design for each person that's specific to what matters to them, which I think is what tartries is. You know, when people make their thobes, they're always picking the motifs and the colors that matter to them. Um so this is kind of like a small piece of that. And yeah, we do focus on upcycling clothing, but it's not always possible for everybody. So very rarely, when it's not possible, I'll order an item for you. But the goal really is to make use of the clothing that you already have.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

Mm-hmm. No, I love that you guys do that. It's such a sustainable way to grow. And also, that's so important as Palestinians. We are just such sustainable people to begin with. I feel we know how to reuse everything and make something out of nothing. And so I love that you have that aspect to the Khalima project. So tell us what then what happens after that.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

Yeah, so there's two main fundraising initiatives. The first is the custom orders. And with this one, 100% is donated to Palestine Emergency Aid. And then the second is for the stitchers out there, like if there's any Taltrizers, if they see a design on our page that we've designed, we in exchange for donations to one of the GoFundMe's for one of the Gaza families we're campaigning for, we'll email you a copy of the design. And so you can either order something to be stitched or stitch something yourself. And then every once in a while, depending on how much time I have, we'll put out ready-made items. So these ones, they're usually more like affordable options. I think I did like keychains as the last one. Or just whenever I feel inspired to make something, I'll post it and then you can buy it ready-made. Or if it'll be an auction item. So we did one for Lebanon and one for Syria.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Nice. And then you you touched upon that some people might ask you to stitch onto their garments symbols of resistance. Can you share with us what are some symbols of resistance?

SPEAKER_01 10:12

I mean, tartaris in itself as behold is resistance, and a lot of motifs are, but when I'm specifically speaking of symbols of resistance, those are kind of the more like obvious ones, and it might not be traditional tartaris. It's more like the dove holding the olive branch, a right of return key, the map, a philistine, a watermelon, olives. Yeah. Like I think someone even said like they wanted a lemon because their family owned lemon tree farms, and so that in itself is also a symbol of resistance.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

What has been the most unique thing someone has asked you to stitch?

SPEAKER_01 10:50

I think the most unique one was such a long time ago, but there was a guy, he was a skater, and he wanted almost it to be like cartoony of a watermelon on a skateboard. And that was fun to try to make, and I think that was probably the most unique one. And you hand stitch these all yourself. Yes, so I stitch um as well as my mom and my sister Manal and my friend Hiba were the stitchers sort of behind. But I will say my mom does like half of it. She's a machine. I don't know. She does it so fast, but yeah, if you ordered from us, there's a very, very good chance that she's the one who stitched it. And it takes three of us to make up how much work she does.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

That's awesome, Mashullah. What's your mom's name? Suher. We gotta give Suhan her flowers, you know, give her her credit. But inshallah, you'll you'll be one day as fast as she is, inshallah. Whatever whatever you are saying your pace is at, mine is like like a snail's pace of whatever pace you are at. So for those who may not be familiar with who Harima was, can you share who she was to you and what her story was?

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Yeah. Um, so Halima was my great-grandmother, and I never got to meet her, but I did speak to her on the phone once when I was very, very little, back when you needed call-in cards just to talk to somebody. I still remember the sound of her voice. She had that very typical small town Philistini accent. And like I don't remember what we talked about, but I remember laughing the whole time. And I wish I was old enough and mature enough to talk to her more and ask her questions and hear her stories. But Alhamdulillah, I was able to piece together her life uh from my mom and my grandma. Um so yeah, my data halima, she grew up on an orange tree farm and she was a very tough and serious woman, but she loved hard and she loved deeply. She was someone that loved to sing like the old folk songs when she was in the kitchen. She crocheted. My mom said she loved to crochet winter clothes for the entire family, and that was sort of how she showed her love to everyone. Um, and you know, like many Palestinian women at that time, she made food from everything around her, and it was always made from scratch, be it cheese or bread or olive butter. You know, she had chickens and she'd make fresh eggs every day. Her house was surrounded by fruit cheese. So if she wanted juice, like she would just go to the backyard, grab some fruit, and make juice. That sounds awesome. It's like as organic as it gets. I know. So, like most Palestinian women, she was an artist and she practiced tatturiz and she decorated her home and her clothing with it, and she passed on that skill to my teta, who passed it on to me and my mom. And she was the inspiration behind this project just because of her nekpa story, and like I said, that was the short story I had shared online. Um, so in May of 1948, the entire town of Belahabasi was violently displaced. And on that day, my Teta Halima, her husband, Maisido Tofi, and their three kids, including my grandma, who was four at the time, were running for safety. And as they were going, my Teta Halima went into labor. So scared for her three kids, she forced Maisido to take the children and run. And of course he didn't want to, but what do you do in those situations, right? There's bombs being dropped, Zionists are charging in with their military grade weapons, and Maisido, you know, he had to make that unimaginable choice and agreed to take the kids to safety, but that also meant leaving my teta on her own. And she ran and she found this like huge olive tree.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

I'm getting kills with what you're saying. I just like can't I'm I'm a mother of three, and so I just like can't imagine. Yeah. Wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

And like Alhamdulillah, I feel like Allah protected her that day. You know, she was trying to find somewhere to go, and subhanAllah, she found this huge olive tree. And you know, like when they get big, they get wide, and she was able to hide behind this tree, and then it was there that she gave birth all alone to her baby boy. And, you know, from the pain of the birth, she passed out with her son in her arms. And we don't know how much time passed, but when she woke up, the town was clear, no one was there, and she found a piece of metal so she could cut like her own umbilical cord. And then she wiped like the blood and cleaned off her baby, and then just took off to find her family. And she named this baby boy Ayyub. And like for anyone listening who may not know, Prophet Ayyub is the prophet we learn resilience and patience from. And Maikal Ayyub grew up to be that type of person. SubhanAllah, he lived his name.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

You're literally making me cry.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Wow, I just wow. But I think the thing I want to stress is that, you know, this isn't an isolated incident. May Tahim was not the only one. And unfortunately, since the start of the Nekbah, Palestinian women continue to injure, endure inhumane childbirth conditions as a direct result of being under a violent occupation. We've seen videos of Palestinian women giving birth at check and not being allowed to make it to a hospital or losing their children in the womb because they aren't given the medical treatment that they need. Or, like we've seen recently in Gaza, they're having c-sections with no anesthesia. Giving birth under a violent occupation is probably, in my opinion, the most difficult thing a human body can go through. I don't know how these women do it, but also they don't have a choice but to do it. You need to remember that at the start of October 2023, there were about 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza. And 180 women were giving birth every single day. And there's one video in particular that I saw back in, I think it was early October, November, where a man went to find water for his family. He couldn't make it back. And while he was gone, his wife went into labor and she gave birth all alone in a tent. And the just the parallel between this woman and Maita Harimah was so stark. It's probably a story that I saw that will always stay in my mind. And so this project, it's not just in honor of Maiteta Hanima, even though she is the namesake. It's also in honor of all the women whose stories mirror hers from the Nekbah to, you know, the last year and a half with Gaza and all the 76 years in between.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

Wow. Thank you so much for sharing that story. It's so sad that 75 plus years later, this is still exactly the same thing that's happening. Women are still enduring those same like obstacles and struggles and oppression that your grandmother faced. Um, I'm just like blown away. I knew this project was named after your great-grandmother, but I didn't realize like what her neck of a story was. And so yeah, thank you so much for sharing that. I mean, it's clear that she passed on so much resilience and strength and also creativity to you and your mom. It's so beautiful that you've been able to kind of take that horrible story and make something so beautiful out of it, but also to be able to spread awareness and help others in the process. I'd love to take a moment to talk about your grandmothers in specific as well. So this is your great-grandmother. Can you share a little bit about your teta's?

SPEAKER_01 18:34

Yeah, so my teta on my dad's side, I she passed away before I was born. So I didn't know her too much. Her name was Sabiyi, and she went from Al-Habbasi, got kind of kicked around, you know, the West Bank, and then eventually was expelled into Amman. And she, from what my mom told me, like she was a very like tough woman, very serious all the time. But I think that's a result of her experience from the Nekbah. So my Teta on my mom's side, her name is Fauzi. She's the daughter of Hadima. And she's the Teta that I grew up with. Um, and that alhamdulillah I have a very strong bond with. And she's exactly what you would expect a taita to be, you know, always feeding you, always making dahats over you, just the brightest smile. She's the type of person, you know, she assumes the good in everybody and has that heart of gold, even if it comes back to bite her, she'll always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. And one of my fondest memories with her actually is her teaching me tatriz. So I think I touched on it earlier. I got off the plane, she's waiting for me in the car, and I'm like, Theta, you're teaching me tatriz. And she's like, Okay, there's time for that. But I was again so persistent. I was staying at my aunt's house. Uh, but every morning I would go down to her place, we'd make breakfast, we'd sit together, and then I'm like, okay, it's time to teach me tatriz. And we kind of did that every day for about three weeks.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

That's such a special bonding moment between you and your grandmother. Now, a lot of people get that, and so I'm sure that meant the world to you. And also meant the world to her as well. They really appreciate when you take the time out to like get to know them as a person rather than just someone who cooks and cleans for you as their teta.

unknown 20:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

That's so special. I think that's gonna be the memory that I'll always look back on when I think of my teta. And my most treasured piece is a thob that she stitched that she gave to me, and I refuse to wear it. It's in plastic and it's hanging in the closet, and like nothing can happen to it.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

I just I love it so much. You gotta put it in a shadow box. Some of my most treasured pieces, honestly, in my house is literally my grandmother's itweb. And I've been like very fortunate to have them like pass me down some like very vintage itweb from like the fuse and that they made themselves, and so I have them in a shadow box, like and it's too heavy to like put on my wall, so I have to figure out a solution to that. But I kind of just like have it like placed against the wall and stuff, and it's like really cute, but yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:18

I did want to talk a little bit about my sido naim, if that's okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

Yep, we love the sido, so please share.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

I do, I just have like one story, and if anything, this is like a little love story, so it's I just think it's so cute. I love telling it. And my sido, he was married to my Fuzzy Teta. Oh um, yeah, so his name was Naeem, and you know, he was very similar to my Teta, like always assuming the best in people, like very good heart, but he was more stoic and quiet. But he was still the type of person who felt his emotions very deeply, and that translated into his form of art, which is poet poetry. And writing. Stop.

SPEAKER_00 22:01

I know. Stop that. That is so cute. A little Palestini Sadal who does poetry. I can't. That's adorable. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 22:12

So did he write poetry for your grandmother? He did, yeah. So he lived in Aman at the time and he was went to visit in Palestine. And he said he was visiting his friend and they were sitting on the patio. And Maiteta came out and served lemonade. And he said the moment she poured him that lemonade, she had his heart. So yeah, so he worked in Aman, and then Maiteta lived just outside of Ramallah. So during the year of their engagement, he would go and visit her every single weekend. And we have to keep in mind he went through that border, through those checkpoints, just to go see her. And then he would do it again to go back so that he could work. Like I mentioned earlier, he was a writer. So every weekend when he saw her, he started putting together this book. And then on the left page, he would write a short story of their time together, what she wore, what they talked about. And then on the right side, he would write a poem of what inspired of how she inspired him that weekend. I know. So cute. It's this adorable. And he kept it like a little secret. And then on their wedding day, he gifted her this book. And I think this is what I mean when I say, like, there's so many sides to us Palestinians. We're not just our trauma, we're the art we create, but we're also our love stories. And there's so much to us that's outside of our trauma. Yeah, I love telling that story. It's one of my favorites. It's so cute. My Teta still has the book. We're not allowed to read it.

SPEAKER_00 23:39

Yeah, your Teta must be an amazing woman to have gotten poems, dozens and dozens of poems written about her. That's incredible. I love that. I mean, it really shows that you're both of your grandparents were so creative. So that explains like where you get your creativity from. That's pretty awesome. What age did your grandmother start teaching you tatris?

SPEAKER_01 23:59

I've been doing tatris for about five years now. Awesome.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

And then was there a specific method that she likes to do tatris in that she passed on to you?

SPEAKER_01 24:09

One thing I love that she taught me, which, you know, a lot of people they rely very heavily on digital patterns and creating their pattern first before they stitch. And I definitely do that, especially if I want to execute an idea. But my teta, the other generation, they didn't do that. They didn't sit and make a pattern first and then stitch it. They would just stitch along the way. So she taught me how to do that, which is such a great skill. I did two pieces for my sister's house, and I did it just like that, where I didn't know what the next motif was going to be or what size it was gonna end up being. I just kind of kept going and let it go at its own pace. And I think that's one of my favorite skills that she taught me, and I love that I have that.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

Yeah, that's so special, and you could keep carrying that on to future generations, inshallah, and your family. Aside from Titris, is there a tradition or a lesson that your tata taught you that you carry on?

SPEAKER_01 25:04

I mean, my tita taught me so many things. I think she just taught me how to like not hold on to anything. I mentioned earlier she always sees the best in people, and it's because she knows how to just let go and let be. And sometimes that's not always easy for me, but I always try to remember that and try to be like her and imitate her in that sense of just seeing the best in people and expecting the best from people.

SPEAKER_00 25:28

Yeah, that's such a special quality to have. I don't think we have enough of that in the world. So that's so special. One thing I love about your work is how it fosters community. Can you share if you have like a role model and what your Titri's community looks like?

SPEAKER_01 25:43

Yeah, so I mean, my role model is my mom. She is just such an amazing person. Shout out, Sujid. Shout out to Suhir. She is just an amazing person. She works so hard. She's an educator. She was a nurse in a past life, she was a bus driver in a past life. Like my mom was a grinder. Me and my siblings, we're all just a reflection of her. Everyone who meets her is just in awe of her. And I love my mom so much. She's definitely like who I think I aspire to be in my life. But in terms of like a Tatriz community, Alhamdulillah, I have a great Palestinian community around me. There's such a huge Palestinian community here in Edmonton. I've met so many people and allies who've supported me in the project along the way. But I think I do want to highlight the girls in my Tatriz circle. They've been just a source of light for me in this last like year and a half. There are Palestinian women in my life who are in the same place, going through the same thing. And I think to have that supportive space during a really tough time has just been so wonderful. And I think it gave me something to look forward to every week as we process our grief and our joys. And I was chatting with my friend Netta, who's one of the three organizers of the circle. Her intention was to just create that space where we can go be Palestinian and be who we are unapologetically. And as much as I love being around all types of people, there is that sense and comfort of being able to just be and you know being with your own. And it's in a way that you really can't do that with anybody else. I'm very grateful to these women for creating that space and the friendships that have come out of that.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

Yeah. Well, that's so beautiful. I'm glad that you have a safe space to be who you are, especially over the last year and a half where everyone's on edge. So yeah, I'm glad that you were able to have that safe space. How has the Hadima Project helped you build relationships with non-Palestinians? What does that look like?

SPEAKER_01 27:46

I mean, honestly, I didn't expect much commitment or community from non-Palestinians or even just non-Muslims in general. You know, growing up Palestine is was always such a touchy subject for people. They didn't want to talk about it. They thought you were talking about Pakistan, you know, um, or they'd make some like really ignorant comment. But to see, I think the tide change in the midst of all this darkness has been such a blessing. When I started the project, I did not think any orders, or I thought maybe very few would come through from non-Palestinians, but I want to say at least 70% of our donations are from non-Palestinian people. And I've met and gotten to know such wonderful people through this project. And so to see how much they care for Tataris, to see how they take pride in owning a small piece of it, and to see how important it is for them to give back and uphold this art practice. So just seeing how vital this is to us and always ask, like, where is this motif from? What does it mean? What does it symbolize? So where did this come from? You know, when they ask how they can take care of the Tataris so that it lasts longer. I mean, all those questions, whenever they come to me with those, that that shows me how much they care. And I think this project has, you know, opened a door for non-Palestinians to interact with Tataris in an ethical way. And I think that's a question many people have been asking themselves how do I engage with Tatris without, you know, appropriating the culture? And I think this is a way for them to do so. And it's a symbol of resistance that they can wear and hold on to, and they're helping keep Palestinian made art alive and they're giving back to Palestinians at the same time. I think a lot of them were and still are looking for a way to not just be there for our community and but to uplift us. I think that's why their connection with this project is so strong. It kind of like opens a door and lets them in. And I just I love that. I'm very grateful that I've had so many connections with non-Palestinians through this project.

SPEAKER_00 29:47

Yeah, I know. I think that's such a special way to build allies and to be able to connect with people. I mean, the cause of Palestine is a humanity issue. It's not just a Palestinian or Arab issue. And so I think the more, the more ways we can get support, the better. Um, and what better way through like art and tatriz? What do you love about Tatriz? You specifically, and how does it impact your identity? Honestly, what's not to love about Tatriz?

SPEAKER_01 30:14

Um, there's so many things. I think that Tatriz, it's our heritage, it's family, it's how we represent ourselves, it's a source of protection, and women have used it as a source of economic freedom for decades. It's our past, it's our present, it's who we are, it's me, it's my friends, it's my mother, it's my grandmother, it's my great-grandmother. And I think in that sense, like what I love is that Teltriz is our maternal line. And not to be sappy, but sometimes I think about, you know, that woman from however many thousands of years ago who created like the Gaza Mountain motif. And, you know, she looked out onto the world, created something so beautiful, stitched it on her thob, and then she taught it to her daughter, who taught it to her friends, who taught it to the women in their lives. And then fast forward to today, we're still stitching her motif. We get the honor of carrying this woman's legacy every time we stitch this pattern, and we don't even know her name. That's how she left her mark on the world. I think that's the number one thing I love most about Teltadis. No one singular person owns it. It's not mine, it's not hers. It belongs to all of us. And Teltadis is built off of sharing and creating as a community. It's based on making a motif and everyone taking it on in their own way and passing it to the next generation. It's how we communicate like our history, and it's how we know what was important to the women before us, and it's how we're gonna communicate what's important to the women after us. Time will pass, and future generations, they're not gonna know our names, but they'll know who we are through the tatris we left behind. And I think that's just what makes it so special.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

Yeah, that's so powerful to hear. Even in exile, these women carried on their thweb and their like their works of tatriz. It was literally so important to them that as they were being occupied and kicked out of their home, they carried it with them as if it was one of their children that they had to carry out of the house. It's because of the reasons that you said it carries their stories and their history. And I think it's so important that people like you are choosing to celebrate that and highlight that and amplify that further. So, where do you want the Halima project to go? What is in store for the Halima project?

SPEAKER_01 32:32

That's a good question. To be honest, I think it's more as the community continue to engage with it. I'm gonna continue to work through it. The project itself just constantly morphs, and it's nothing that I ever plan. It's always something that comes to me, even with the patterns for donations. That was never a set-out plan. I had a lot of people DMing me asking, can you send the digital pattern for this? I'd love to stitch it myself. And so then that's how the digital patterns for the Gaza families came to be. I'm such a planner. I'm a very type A person. I don't know how to move without planning. But for some reason, when it comes to this project, I'm okay with just letting it be and letting it morph into what it needs to be at the time that it needs to be it. Um I think um, you know, when it comes to our work, part of it is exposure, you know, like the the kathigi, it's a symbol that tells everyone around you, you know, where you stand and who you stand for. And I want, I think I want people to know like when they they wear our tatteries, I want them to be impacted enough to make change. And I want them to interact with and I want them to know that that if they interact with our culture, like they have that duty and responsibility to fight alongside of us for our liberation. And so as much as I try to envision, you know, what's next for this project, I would much rather envision like what's next for Palestine and figuring out how my project can help aid in that movement. And I just I want people to who interact with us to take that extra step of boycotting and protesting, and most importantly, you know, being consistent in their advocacy. But I also want them to see us for everything we are. And I think a lot of times when we talk about Palestine or Palestinians, we focus heavily on Palestinian trauma. But I think it's important to remember too, like we're not just a product of our trauma. There's Palestinian joy, Palestinian love, art, and hope. And that every time someone orders a piece from the Hanima project, I want them to know they're receiving a piece of my great-grandmother Hanima and everyone who came before her and after her. And that the piece they have is embedded with all of our struggles, but also with all of our joy and love and hope. It's more so not next steps for the projects, but what's the next steps for people who interact with us?

SPEAKER_00 34:54

Yeah, like I love that it's a very like community-driven project, and you don't have something set in mind. It's more of like what we'll step in where the community wants us, where the community needs us. You don't go, you don't set out to get something out of, you know, out of one of your projects. It's really to help others. Um, and like wherever that takes you is gonna be like the best place for you. Yeah. So I think that's so special. Where can we where can we learn more about the Hani Project? And then how can we support the Hanima project?

SPEAKER_01 35:22

Yeah, so I'm just on Instagram at the Halima Project. That's the only place where we are. On that Instagram page, the link in our bio has the custom order forms. Um, but honestly, you can always just DM me. I'm very active, my phone's always with me, so I'll respond pretty quickly. Anyone has a question.

SPEAKER_00 35:39

Also, I will put the link in the description of this episode for everyone. Before we wrap up, we love ending the same way that we started on a Sati-inspired question. So if it could be your dead to Fozia or your dead Harima, but if they were here with us today in our conversation, doing some tatries, chit-chatting and drinking their Shay, what would they be most proud of?

SPEAKER_01 36:05

My god, that's such a good question. Um, I mean, I'd like to think that they'd be proud of me and the work that I'm doing and the project. And I think what they would be most proud of is all of the meaningful moments, too, that have come out of this project and seeing how much non-Palestinians care about tatsaris and how they interact with us. And like I would tell my Teta, um, there was someone who sent me a photo of like him and his dad at one of the Palestinian protests in LA. And I sent her that picture to be like, look, Teta, they're they're wearing our tsaris, they're protesting. And she was like, Oh my god, I'm so proud of you. Like, you are helping do this, you know. And I think that's what they would be proud of is all the people who are still fighting for our liberation. And and there's so many of them. One girl was wearing our tetris at the U Penn encampment, and there was another girl who will always stand out to me. She took her shahada as many did like during the last year and a half, and this was her shahada gift for herself. Those moments are probably what they're most proud of. They grew up in a time when they felt like the world didn't care about them. And I think seeing the world care and seeing how much effort people are putting in is what they'd be proud of and what they'd be in awe of. And I just love that my teta's alive to see it, and I just wish my teta Halima was alive to see it.

SPEAKER_00 37:32

That's so special. Thank you for sharing that. And I'm glad, I'm glad that you've been able to have that moment with your Teta Focia where she can like where you can show her that and she can actually vocalize like how proud she is. That's so beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing that. And thank you, Linda, so much for sharing your story, your grandmother's story, and your great-grandmother Harima's story as well. Thank you. You have like such a big heart, and it was so nice to like get to know you, and I really appreciate you taking the time out.

SPEAKER_01 38:01

Well, thank you so much for having me, and it's been so great chatting with you as well. And I love your podcast. I recently like just binged all of your episodes before mine, and I just love the type of woman that you're having on it and who you're talking to and the stories you're getting out of us. And I can't wait to see or hear what you do next.

SPEAKER_00 38:21

Thank you so much. Thank you for listening to this episode of Siddhi's Stories. Linda's work reminds us that a single thread can carry generations of strength, memory, and love. Through the Hadima project, she's not only preserving Palestinian heritage, she's weaving it into the present stitch by stitch. What moves me most is how this project is inspired by the women who came before her. Her mother, her grandmother, and her great-grandmother. Women whose hands held stories, whose quiet strength continues to shape her path today. Each donation becomes part of a collective effort to uplift, preserve, and empower. You can learn more about the Hedima project and support Linda's work by visiting the links in our show notes. If today's episode spoke to you, take a moment to reflect and share with someone you know would love it too. Until next time, keep sharing your city's stories.