PARIS – In a quiet corner of the French capital, Palestinian artist Maha Al‑Daya is turning threads into powerful testimony.
Forced to flee her war-torn home in Gaza, the 41-year-old mother of three now embroiders haunting images of devastation onto fabric—maps scorched in red thread, Arabic calligraphy crying “Stop the genocide”, and stitched memories of a homeland under fire.
Al‑Daya, once known for celebratory embroidery in weddings and family events, now says her needle “stitches away pain” as she listens to news of bombings and blockades back home. Since resettling in France in 2023 under emergency humanitarian arrangements, her art has transformed into a form of resistance and remembrance.
Earlier this year, she exhibited her work at Paris’s Arab World Institute, presenting French President Emmanuel Macron with a piece asking, “Where are we going to go now?”—a question echoing the reality of displacement for millions of Palestinians.
Rooted in centuries-old Palestinian tradition, Al‑Daya’s embroidery reclaims heritage not through celebration but through sorrow—thread by thread, she documents what she calls a “slow and silent erasure” of her people.
This story has been reported by PakTribune. All rights reserved.