Tote Bag - Key of Return

Key of Return Tote bag. Designed and printed in Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, made of Palestinian Mansouri cotton. Approximately: 15.5” x 11.5”

The "Key of Return" is a powerful symbol of the Palestinians’ right of return, originating from the 1948 Nakba, when over 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes, taking their original house keys with them assuming they would return in a week or two when the violence subsided.

These old, oversized iron keys represent Palestinian resilience, resistance, history and identity as they are passed down through generations of family members with a sense of hope and a belief that they’ll one day return to their ancestral hones.

This Right of ٍٍReturn is internationally recognized under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194, which states that refugees wishing to return to their homes shall be permitted to do so.

About Qastina

During his visits abroad, artist and designer Ayed Arafah would regularly phone his mother and ask her for recipes; she would then dictate the right instructions. Arafah was trying to cook his favourite dishes, and he was left with many scraps of paper with recipes on them. Back in Palestine, he translated these into handwritten memos and drawings, and screen-printed the artworks onto cotton fabric woven in Al Khalil/Hebron. Ayed Arafah turns this culinary heritage into beautiful and useful daily objects. As a Palestinian refugee in Bethlehem, he keeps Qastina – the village he originates from – alive through these Qastina Designs.