Why We Started The Yuma Project: Palestine Solidarity Through Art and Design
- yusufandmarriam
- Oct 18
- 5 min read
My father fled Palestine with nothing, but believed your mind and your smile were the only things no one could take from you. He pushed education hard - but creativity was still in my blood. My mother basically created the Muslim children's book genre with 'The ABC rhymes for Muslim kids' back when nothing like that existed. So while my dad focused on knowledge and books, both my parents understood the power of words, stories, and reaching people through creativity.
I found my way to photography and design. Turns out that's become my way of fighting for what's right.
Palestinian Culture Deserves Better Design
If you've ever been to a Palestinian solidarity protest, you know the vibe. Incredible energy, passionate people standing up for something that matters – and the shirts always told the story with simple, direct messaging. Basic fonts on fabric. Black text on white cotton. The message was powerful, but I kept thinking: what if we could make this even more beautiful? We deserve designs that match the richness of our culture.
As someone with a decent eye for design, I saw an opportunity to use our designs for something pure. Palestinian culture has some of the most beautiful visual history in the world – geometric patterns that tell stories, embroidery that carries generations of meaning, symbols that have survived decades of attempted erasure. I wondered: how could we honor all of that beauty in our solidarity apparel?
I realized there was this amazing opportunity. People wanted to support Palestine, and they had options for basic protest gear or traditional pieces, but there was room for something new. Where were the designs that bridged both worlds – beautiful and meaningful, pieces you could wear anywhere and spark conversations naturally?
Two Hearts, One Mission
Marriam and I started The Yuma Project together. She changed everything about how I saw what was possible. She's Egyptian but bleeds Palestinian - been advocating for Palestinian rights her whole life. When we got together, she saw how we could combine my design skills with her marketing background to actually make a difference. I had the creative vision, she had the strategy. Together, we knew how to make something people would actually wear while supporting a cause that matters.
Our first idea was simple but powerful: create dope designs with real meaning, then use the profits to support Palestinian child artists back home. See, growing up, I learned something important about art – it heals. When you can express yourself creatively, especially when everything around you is chaos, it does something for your spirit that nothing else can. We'd think about Palestinian kids living in what's basically an open air prison and realize that giving them art supplies, teaching them photography, helping them express themselves – that could be our way of making a difference in Palestine.
We wanted Palestinian kids to see that their creativity mattered, that their voices had value, that someone thousands of miles away believed in what they could create.
My parents had filled a gap with their children's books when Muslim kids had nothing to read that reflected them. Maybe we could fill a gap too – giving Palestinian children tools to tell their own stories.
When Everything Shifted
Then October 7th happened, and the world changed again. Suddenly, Palestinian children weren't just living under occupation – they were being slaughtered. Starved. The priorities became crystal clear: these kids needed food and water, not paintbrushes. They needed to survive before they could create.
It broke our heart to have to pivot away from our initial goal of the artist program, but when you're watching genocide happen in real time, you reassess everything. Right now, Palestinian children need basic necessities to stay alive. The art program is still there, waiting for when they're not fighting for their very existence.
This Is Personal
I need you to understand something – this isn't abstract politics for us. My father, aunts, uncles, are all original refugees from Palestine. I've known the truth my entire life. The stories of displacement, the daily reality of what it means to be Palestinian, the way entire families can disappear from maps but never from memory.
When I see what's happening in Gaza, in the West Bank, to Palestine, we feel it in our stomachs. These aren't news stories to us – these are our people. This is my family's story happening again, in new and more horrific ways.
Design as Resistance
What I've learned as a designer is that good design doesn't just look nice – it communicates. When someone wears our pieces, they're bringing Palestinian culture into spaces where it might never be seen otherwise. They're making Palestine visible in their office, their classroom, their neighborhood.
Every time someone asks about the keffiyeh pattern on our bags, or wants to know what the symbols on our shirts mean, we've created an opening. We've turned a piece of clothing into a conversation starter, design into resistance.
We get messages from customers all the time. A college student wore our gear to class and got asked about Palestine by three different people – suddenly she's educating classmates just by getting dressed. A guy wore our shirt to work and ended up in an hour long conversation with a coworker who'd never really understood what was happening. A mom at her kid's school sparked a discussion that led five other parents to actually research what's going on.
That's what we mean by "dope designs with strong meaning." We're not just making clothes – we're making tools. Every piece we create is a bridge between Palestinian culture and people who might never encounter it otherwise.
Building Palestine Solidarity Through Art
The Yuma Project isn't a clothing brand, it's proof that Palestinian culture deserves beautiful representation. It's a way for people to carry Palestine with them wherever they go. It's our answer to decades of basic solidarity gear that didn't do justice to what we believe in.
Right now, we're focused on raising awareness and supporting immediate humanitarian needs. Every purchase helps fund aid for Palestinians who need it most. But we haven't forgotten about those young artists. When this nightmare ends, when children can dream again instead of just trying to survive, we'll be there with cameras and canvases and all the art supplies we can carry.
The Weight I Carry
Every design I create, I think about my father's journey from Palestine to America. Every shirt we sell, I think about the Palestinian child who might live to see freedom because enough people finally paid attention. Every conversation our clothing starts, I think about the awareness we're building that might prevent another generation from becoming refugees.
There's something powerful about continuing a family tradition of creative resistance. My parents saw Muslim children who had no books that reflected their experiences, so they wrote them. Now my wife and I see people who want to support Palestine but lack beautiful ways to express that solidarity, so we're designing them.
We just want to make whatever difference we can to help raise awareness and stop the injustice against our people. So we're using our designs for justice. We're building a movement that makes Palestine impossible to ignore. It's what we can do, and it's what we are doing.
Because growing up Palestinian taught me that surviving isn't enough. We don't just want to exist – we want to thrive, create, be seen, be understood, and be free.
Join Us
When you wear Yuma, you wear resistance. You make Palestinian culture visible in your daily life and everyone around you. You support a Palestinian-owned business that believes justice and beauty can coexist.
Every purchase supports humanitarian aid for Palestinians in desperate need. Every conversation our designs start builds the awareness that will eventually free Palestine.
Ready to make Palestine impossible to ignore?
Comments