'Stitching is resisting': How Edmonton's Palestinian community gains strength from its heritage

Every stitch is meditative. 

That's how Manal Kalousa, a Canada Palestine Cultural Association board member, describes the traditional embroidery art form known as tatreez. 

The hand-sewn practice is centuries old and has been passed down through the generations, according to the Tatreez Institute, a Palestinian-led educational arts initiative focused on the preservation, documentation and research of textiles in Southwest Asia and North Africa. 

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization recognized the art of Palestinian embroidery as an important expression of cultural heritage in 2021. 

"This project is what we hope is going to be our peace ambassador to the world," said Kalousa. She's the team lead for the Threads of Diaspora, a project that started as a means to teach tatreez to Edmontonians but has since grown to be a way to share Palestinian culture. 

"Which will show how we can all be connected together. And [the name] Threads of Diaspora because we, as Palestinians, we are spread around the world," Kalousa said. 

Kalousa said she was taught the craft by her mother, who learned from Kalousa's grandmother. 

"It runs in our DNA," she said in an interview, describing stitching as sacred. 

"When you're stitching, I'm connecting to my grand-grand-grand-grandmother ... to all those women in my heritage, and it's the same for every Palestinian woman, and I think even other cultures too." 

Tatreez can be seen in various items like decorations and clothing and is most commonly used to embellish dresses known as thobes. The designs are inspired by everyday life and feature depictions of nature like trees, flowers and birds. 

For women, choosing colours and designs would communicate regional identity and marital and economic status.

The designs have deep cultural and historical significance, according to designer and association member Elian Aboudi.

"You have a wider library of tatreez designs that everybody can share, and it was the language of resistance," Aboudi said. 

"We want our right to exist with dignity, with humanity ... stitching is resisting and resisting is existing."