Palestinian Mental Health, Resistance, and the Story Behind Warrior Ink Apparel

Over the last couple of years, my mental health has taken a serious hit. Watching my people suffer every single day while trying to raise my own kids here has not been easy.

My parents left during the Naksa in 1967. Like so many Palestinians, they were forced to build a life somewhere else. Some of my family never made it; colonizers murdered some and took others hostage. That reality was passed down to me, and now I carry it every day while trying to do my part in a world that often looks away.

Some days, I can barely enjoy the simple things without guilt. Even feeding my children feels heavy when I know parents in Gaza are struggling to keep theirs alive. How can any of us truly feel joy when our people are being slaughtered, starved, and erased? Survivor’s guilt is real! Any moment of joy is followed by the thought of who doesn’t get that same chance.

We still own land my father left for us. May Allah be pleased with him, forgive him, and raise him to The Highest Levels of Jannat Al Firdaus. The deed is real! The soil is filled with our blood, but it is also real and ours! The right to return is 100% real! Even if I can’t stand on it today, it is still ours! And tomorrow I will be there with my parents' key on my chest.

Warrior Ink Apparel was born out of this pain and this responsibility. I run it mostly on my own. I’ve dealt with failed collaborations and broken promises, and sales that aren’t enough to reach the level of impact I often dream of. But every design, every order, every person who chooses to wear Warrior Ink is part of something bigger. It’s not about fashion! It’s about turning clothing into resistance. Turning style into a message.

My mental health has suffered, yes. Many sleepless nights. A great deal of rage. Many days where I feel completely numb. Too many funerals on a phone screen! I read the other day that, if you go to 1 funeral a day in Gaza, you will spend 52 years just going to funerals, daily. But I’m Palestinian! Resilience and self-determination run in my blood. I can’t and I will not quit! Liberation from the river to the sea is what drives me.

And when I think about joy, I picture what was stolen from us. Parents in their fields with hot tea, za'atar, and zait, along with fresh hobz. Kids laughing and playing while families work the land. Weddings in the streets, where the entire village comes together. That’s what they tried, for many years now, to take from us. That’s what we will rebuild.

Oh my Palestine, I love you endlessly. And I will never stop fighting for you. ✊🇵🇸🔥