How a circle of London women are finding healing through this traditional Palestinian art

Michelle Both · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 09, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: March 9

Stitch by stitch, a pistillate cautiously sews a deep magenta thread onto a tapestry, dilatory revealing an intricate geometric design. 

There is chatting, and determination is mint tea. But astatine the centre, a ellipse of women are gathering unneurotic to larn the accepted Palestinian creation of tatreez.

The craft, which dates backmost centuries, has been passed down done the generations — and is also a signifier of societal activism depicting Palestinian past and culture.

Moved to prime up a needle and thread, Rasha Abu Ramadan began teaching tatreez successful the London area last summer, inspired by the Threads of Diaspora task retired of Edmonton, Alta. 

"What we're doing present is not lone a signifier of resistance — and societal and taste resistance — but it's a signifier of ensuring that we support our identity, that we walk connected to the younger procreation taste aspects that we bash not privation to beryllium erased," she said, portion astatine a store astatine ReImagine Co. successful downtown London. 

The trade is often utilized to decorate clothing, including accepted dresses known arsenic thobes. Ramadan said that each Palestinian portion is represented successful antithetic ways, with antithetic colours and motifs. An representation arsenic elemental arsenic a watermelon, olive oregon wheat atom tin person heavy meaning, said Ramadan.

'More than conscionable a transverse stitching club'

Community healing is besides a ample portion of the project, Ramadan said. 

"This is more than conscionable a cross-stitching club. It's a mode for america to link with 1 different and to stock our lived experiences together. It's healing."

Many of the women have mislaid family — mothers, fathers, siblings, cousins — killed successful Gaza, she said. "It's precise hard to explicate to radical who haven't gone done those experiences." 

Those extracurricular of the Palestinian assemblage person joined the workshops, too, to amusement their enactment and larn astir the culture. 

Rojah Hajimirzakhani is stitching a motif known arsenic the prima oregon satellite of Bethlehem in purple and reddish thread.  

She is determination to participate, but is besides researching tatreez and however the Palestinian diaspora is utilizing it to link to their homeland arsenic a signifier of brushed resistance, she said, arsenic portion of her grad studies at Western University. 

"It's truly beautiful," she said. "It's truly astonishing to spot radical beryllium capable to travel together, particularly successful these hard times successful the discourse of the genocide connected Gaza — and to find a mode to link and to consciousness a consciousness of anticipation done the artwork that they're doing."

Areej Obeid, whose household is from Palestine, is present arsenic a unpaid teaching tatreez, aft precocious picking up the trade again and honing her skills. 

Now, she's already creating patterns for the embroidery inspired by the task from different covering she sees online. Carefully designed in squares, each signifier is unique.

"This is really, truly rewarding," she said. "I'm conscionable truly excited astir this project, and I can't hold to person our last tapestry enactment unneurotic and acceptable to present."

A batch of the patterns utilized are portion of larger Palestinian resistance, said Samah Al Sabbagh, the president of the Canadian Palestinian Social Association successful London, which the Tatreez radical is portion of. In 2021, the United Nations recognized Palestinian embroidery as an important explicit of taste heritage. 

"There are definite patterns that we use, which is astir the solidarity and however to keep our onshore and keep ... lasting still, beryllium strong," she said. "What we're trying to bash successful this nine is to revive that contented of tatreez and get the radical to understand."

So far, enthusiasm was evident successful the room. 

She was determination with her 11-year-old girl Jurie Seyam, who was busy practicing the stitches she's learned successful the signifier of the missive J. The adjacent clip she comes, she hopes to personalize it astir the edges.  

"I conscionable wanna larn much of my culture," Seyam said. 

She finds it has different benefits too, similar keeping you focused connected 1 happening if you person a debased attraction span, Seyam said.  

"It feels truly peculiar to maine due to the fact that I've ne'er done tatreez before," she said. "It's truly touching to my heart."