Let’s Get Kuffiyeh’d Up
Columbus is the diverse capital of the oddly shaped state named Ohio.
It is home to one of the largest universities in the country, THE Ohio
State University. This university, like its home city, has a diverse
population amongst it. One population that is noticeable is the
Palestinian demographic. Palestinians are well recognized throughout
the central Ohio region, so it makes sense for events to celebrate their
rich culture and history. On November 17 th, the Arab Student Union of
OSU hosted their Palestinian event titled, Raise the Kuffiyeh.
During this night, Palestinian flags were waved high and kuffiyeh’s worn proud. I even participated in the fun, wearing a grey kuffiyeh with a Handala necklace. This event consisted of a variety of different aspects of
Palestinian culture. It began with volunteers walking to the stage carrying the name of various names of Palestinian cities, including Jerusalem, the unanimously announced capital of Palestine. The event, whose intent was to highlight Palestine, featured numerous performers that were not Palestinian, but had a love for the culture. One act consisted of an Iranian student singing famous Palestinian songs while playing the Oud next to a Palestinian student who was playing the
drums. Another student beautifully stroked the piano keys to the tune of Mawtani, the unofficial national anthem of Palestine. Students also delivered poems that embraced being Palestinian.
During the event, there was a brief moment to recognize those who were killed in the Gaza bombings the week prior to this event. Their names were read out loud, and their memories forever engraved in every attendees’ heart. Continuing on, there was a fashion show. This
fashion show showcased the variety of different styles and patterns of traditional Palestinian dress found throughout the territory. Each pattern had a similar look but was also uniquely distinguishable from the rest. The importance here is to show how proud Palestinians are of their
roots. These slight design differences represent different villages found through Palestine, each one holding a different memory of home. Of course, you cannot celebrate Palestine’s cultural significance without dancing. The event showcased two different dabke routines. Dabke is a
traditional Palestinian dance that is performed at weddings and other joyous events. To give an idea on the significance of the dabke, many protestors inside of the Palestinian Territories have performed dabke while marching against the Israeli occupation. A unique addition to this annual event was comedian Sammy Obeid. He focused majority of his jokes on both mathematics and the Palestinian struggle. The younger crowd at the event enjoyed his jokes, but I honestly think that the older crowd did not understand him. The night ended with another dabble performance that was even better than the first one. Everyone was up on their feet dancing and waving their Palestinian flags proudly to the beat of the music. The event was something spectacular and did a
great job at highlighting the Palestinian culture as well as the importance of keeping all of their traditions alive. I congratulate the Arab Student Union and the rest of the organizations present on their incredible job at highlighting the culture aspects of the strong-standing Palestinians. Free
Palestine.
