Shams Refuses to Be Robbed… Her Voice Rises Above the Occupation

Here they are—the thieves of land, history, and identity. Here they are, attacking childhood, the pen, the school, the alleys, and the streets where our beautiful memories, family, friends, and loved ones reside.

In this image, one of the invading soldiers in Al-Far'a refugee camp seizes the opportunity with utter vileness and baseness to steal a school bag belonging to the young girl, Shams.

Shams cries out, "This is my bag!"

If Shams refuses to abandon her school bag,
then let her voice rise above the sounds of displacement and uprooting to declare: Never, never! Here we live, here we will stay, and here I will learn and grow, to live on my land despite the oppression, the pain, and the occupation’s attempts to steal our dreams and our future.

For the sun of freedom will inevitably rise.