"Occupied Shatha" Tote - Traditional Basket

Handprinted Tote Bag. Approximate dimensions: 14.5” x 15.5”

Created by artist "Occupied Shatha" from Dheisheh Refugee Camp/Jerash Village. 

This design is of a traditional Palestinian woman carrying a handwoven basket on her head.

From early childhood, Shatha enjoyed drawing and different forms of art. She was raised on stories of home, history, and the many pictures of martyrs, prisoners, and Intifada events. These stories and images have never left her mind.

One such image was of an old Palestinian woman wearing her thobe working in the fields, carrying a clay water jar on her shoulder. As she started to witness her elders passing away in the refugee camps, instead of in their homeland surrounded by their loved ones, she felt that her heritage was starting to fade away as well. That is why she wanted to do something that would immortalize these stories, instead of losing them.

Shatha believes that art is one way to preserve Palestinian history and connect the different generations of Palestine together. Her art is her own, a modest and personal contribution to ensuring that history is not forgotten.