For the longest time, I believed liberation was not possible. They seemed too powerful, armed with technology, infrastructure, and institutional control. As a child, I used to daydream about the day Palestine would be free. I pictured people returning to their homes and villages, and borders removed. But as I grew older, these images began to fade. Reality hit me with the endless oppression, and the idea of a free Palestine started to feel distant and unrealistic. I began to view the phrase "Free Palestine" as a romantic dream, unable to see beyond the boundaries the occupation had imposed on my world. My imagination had become limited and occupied.
As Palestinian photographer Steve Sabella wrote in his book, T