Fatima Walid Issa

My name is Fatima Walid Issa from Al Khalsa village in Palestine. I was born in Ain Al Hilwi camp for Palestinian refugees, located in Saida, in Southern Lebanon.

My grandparents were deported from Palestine and fled to Lebanon in 1948, where my family has lived since.

When I was 5 years old, I joined the Kufiyyeh group and learned how to dance Dabkeh (traditional folk dance). I performed with the group inside and outside of Lebanon.

I am currently a university student, but I still dance Dabkeh because I believe that this dance carries a message to the world, and tells the story of my country and my grandparents.

The Kufiyyeh group was formed in 1992 by Madam Hureyyeh Alfar. The group presents folkloric folk dance and has produced many generations of dancers through the years of different ages. So far, the group remains committed to its goal of training individuals to show their identity and is itself a form of cultural resistance.

The picture is in the background in the mountains of Palestine, my country of origin, and I am dancing so that I can breathe her passionate air.