Youth have created various ways to use their right to freedom of speech, even when it was stolen from them. They drew on the walls, wrote breath-taking songs, and used their clothes to speak for them. Here is a collection of 10 shirts that have a political message, carry the dreams of their owners and are a step closer to freedom in Palestine and Egypt.
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“We Will Return to Palestine”
It is the sentence that Palestinians have been chanting since 1948. It is a promise that we took on ourselves and have been fighting to get for 70 years. Palestinians in diaspora are trying to hold to any thread from their hometowns. It is a fight with the Zionist government which will end someday, it is a belief.
“If you shall live, do it freely”
Creating a master piece, the great late poet Mahmoud Darwish wrote this poem and the late artist Samih Shuqair sang it. It finger-points to every single Palestinian alive or dead to hold their dignity close to their hearts. If he/she is alive, they shall do it freely. Thus, If they were to die, then it is best to die like a tree; never kneeling to anyone or anything. It urges Palestinians to always have their voices loud, to break the silence and never to fear the enemy.
Mawtini (My Homeland)
This poem was written by Ibrahim Touqan in 1934. It was the national anthem of Palestine before it was changed it to Fidaie. Many artists still sing this anthem with new musical distributions. Its lyrics summarizes the Palestinian freedom fighters values. It puts in a very neat selection of words all the hopes and dreams of Palestinians and all the promises they made for Palestine.
#SaltandWater
During hunger strikes, prisoners only drink water with salt. From here came the idea of drinking salty water as a challenge on social media to show support for the Palestinian prisoners. Many celebrities accepted this challenge to show their support to the world. This hashtag was lately used in April 2017, when 1500 Palestinian prisoners went into a hunger strike for 40 days to get their most basic human rights.
Yassir Arafat, Fateh.
The members of the Fateh movement in the Palestinian universities wear t-shirts with the late Palestinian president, Yassir Arafat, on it. They also wear the traditional black and white Kuffyah as a way of expressing their political tendencies. The other 2 most effective parties are Hamas and The Public’s Front for the liberation of Palestine. Hamas’ members usually wear a green band around their arms while the front’s member have the red flag and the red Kuffyah.
Handala
This character is created by the late Caricature artist Naji Al-Ali. Handala is a 10 year old poor Palestinian boy, who turned his back to everything and always looks towards his hometown, Palestine. He became a Palestinian symbol of youth reality with his big dreams and tattered-looking appearance. During the first Intifada, Handala was drawn with a rock in his hand. Other times he was drawn writing on walls.
“Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions”
The BDS movement is an international movement created by a non-profit organization to boycott “Israel”, economically and culturally. It has been working for 12 years now. However, its largest campaign occurred along with the latest war on Gaza in 2014. This activist is Basel Al-Aaraj. The IOF killed him after two hours of clash in his escape-house in Ramallah.
“It is still January’s Revolution”
The Egyptian youth had dreams, they all wanted to achieve one simple demand; a better life. The 25th January Revolution in 2011 was their biggest step towards that one dream. They were all determined to make it come true. This young lady in the picture is the activist Sanaa Saif. Carrying her hopes, she wore this hoodie and went on a solo protest. It started from Mustafa Mahmoud St. to AL-Tahrir square on the 5th anniversary as a commemoration of the revolution. The Egyptian youth and Sanaa’s dream didn’t come true yet, thus their revolution is still on.
Rabia Sign/ R4bia
This hand sign refers to the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, the site of a violent confrontation between Morsi’s followers and the Egyptian army. Reported deaths from the clash range from hundreds to thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters.The sign represents its holder’s support to Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and worldwide. Hence, some people like to think of it as the new “V” sign.
Hacking for Gaza
In 2014, when citizens in Gaza were empty handed internet and social media were their only resort. With their simplest equipment, youths in Gaza and around the MENA were able to make great achievemnts. Hackers were able to hack governmental agencies, military agencies and financial services.
If you have any striking political statement t-shirts, drop us a comment below!