“How does one ask for love?” With tears in his eyes, Ahmed asked how he was supposed to ask to be loved by his son, who was growing older. He feared that over time, as his children grew and forgot about Syria, he would be left behind as well.

“Do not fail them. Do not look back in your life and regret not being by their side.”

Now, when my beloved Palestinian brothers and sisters are hurting from incomprehensible acts of violence, I can’t and won’t remain paralyzed with fear.

“ Being the descendant of refugees translates into the erasure of our history and the enduring ambiguity that surrounds it. All I can focus on is the future because it was all I was afforded. “

“Nobody slept. Mothers crying, children screaming. In less than a few seconds, people lost their whole lives…I question if I am doing enough from where I am and with my reach. I must support my community, I must make a difference in any way possible.”

“Today, the only images of a homeland I never got to visit are based on memories of violence and tragedies . . . MERA is not a hobby, it's built from an obligation that this generation has to end the cycle of trauma and war in the Middle East.”