RAYA TUFFAHA
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    • To All the Yellow Flowers
    • apocalypse blues
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  • Home
  • Note from Raya
  • Acting
  • Writing
    • To All the Yellow Flowers
    • apocalypse blues
  • Contact
RAYA TUFFAHA

Note from Raya

REAL RENT DUWAMISH
Compensate the Duwamish tribe for their land, resources, and livelihoods.
FALASTINIYAT
​Stay engaged with this feminist Palestinian grassroots collective.
NW COMMUNITY BAIL FUND
Enable abolition by providing cash bail for marginalized Seattle community members.
THE FREEDOM THEATRE
Support Palestinian youth access to theatre and help enable their creative pursuits.
UTOPIA WA
Help foster an equitable space for the LGBTQ Pacific Islander community in Washington State.
AMISTAD LAW PROJECT
Fight for decarceration in Philadelphia and support the organizers on the ground.
​“Art is both political and instinctive. During the summer of 2020, when the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (re)claimed six blocks of Seattle including the SPD’s East Precinct, one of the first things people did was create art. Paintings, music, street art, all of these were necessary in upholding the protest. Palestinian traditional dance – 'dabke' – can be spotted even in the occupier’s line of fire. Under occupation, Palestinians have been prevented from using their flag’s colors in their artwork. The colonizers know: art can spark an intifada.

As both a member of the Palestinian diaspora and an occupier of Duwamish land, my art constantly grapples with the world of exile, displacement, loneliness, and marginalization. I see the effects of western imperialism on my family, our (in)ability to return to Palestine, and our unwilling complicity in the United States’ ongoing colonial projects – in the mainland USA, in Hawai’i, in Samoa, in Puerto Rico, in Guam, in the Virgin Islands, in the Philippines, and in the Arab world. My existence, and therefore my art, cannot be separated from these truths.
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Art alone will not decolonize. I ask that if you engage with my art in any way, you donate to one of the aforementioned organizations. I’m also highlighting Falastiniyat, an organization I am proud to be affiliated with. It is our collective responsibility to support each other in the struggle against colonialism, ethnic cleansing, cultural erasure, and dehumanization. One of the most powerful things we can do is recognize each other’s humanity and dignity.”