My journey supporting Palestinian liberation began after October 7th. I’m sad to say I knew absolutely nothing about Palestine before then, but after the events, a close friend of mine called me to talk. She was distraught, hurt, traumatized, scared… so I listened, like any friend would. She educated me a little bit, but mostly talked about the suffering, the injustices, and how it was taking a toll on her. She talked about her family being originally from Palestine, and but then being pushed out to Jordan.

It hit me after that conversation that after years of friendship, she had only ever talked to me about being Jordanian; this was first time she ever said anything about being Palestinian. That conversation told me all I needed to know about oppression — the feeling of never feeling like you’re allowed to belong. I knew this feeling, from my own context of a human being, and also my own context of being Mexican. I knew a fair amount about the colonization of Mexico, so it wasn’t hard to see the parallels between the colonization of Mexico and the colonization of Palestine.

At the time, I was also working in social finance and impact investing. Like many of us, I was really devastated by everything I was seeing, and the complete silence was confusing, unbearable, and hypocritical. I learned quickly that work was not a safe space for the topic of Palestine, despite being a sector that’s supposed to be leading the way for equitable and just funding. Turned out, I was not the only one who felt this way. A group of almost 100 of us in the sector came together, organized by the fearless Paula Sahyoun, to create The Palestine Impact Collective. We exist to shift the narrative about Palestine in our sector. Not long after, I sought connection in my own community up in Northern Ontario. I was attending the local farmer’s market and noticed a table set up outside with a keffiyeh pattern; I went over and introduced to Sault Ste Marie For Palestine (SSM4P), a grassroots collective of people in the city who wanted to do something about the suffering in Palestine. It is especially important in our hometown to support Palestinian liberation, as we have a direct connection to the colonial history of Canada through our local university, which operates out of a former residential school. Our ties to colonization cannot be ignored; we cannot be blind to the colonization of Palestine.

Participating in Palestinian liberation is important for all of us; if we are not holding governments and even each other accountable, are setting a very dangerous precedent of what we will allow in the world. Palestinian liberation is not just about Palestine; it’s about all of our systems. International law, international human rights, free speech, media censorship, and more. If we turn our back to Palestine, we turn our back to all of this. If we stay silent, we are essentially saying that we’re okay with these things being . We may notice how this is already trickling into other areas, like the recent ICE raids.

The reason I share this so openly and vulnerably is because there are many of us like me, who know something is wrong, but don’t have the language or “get it” on an intellectual level. Add to this the propaganda and systemic biases and colonized worldviews that have normalized violence as “necessary", it can be a very confusing journey. But I share because I feel like I was one of the most uneducated about it, and it didn’t stop me from asking dumb questions, needing to be explained things, and doing my own homework. Simply, I hope it invites others to do the same.

I also talk about it openly as a mindfulness teacher. I think in our mindfulness sanghas, it can be uncomfortable to talk about it, and maybe even feel like it’s not allowed to be spoken about because of the violence. This is VERY UNTRUE. Buddhism offers a pathway to transform suffering — the individual and collective kind. The Buddhist pathway invites us to take on this type of transformation through non-judgemental awareness; when we witness the seeds, or the roots, of our suffering (“illbeing”) we can water the seeds of love and compassion to nurture this illbeing so it transforms to wellbeing. We can take this same approach to collective suffering when we witness gross injustices at play like in Palestine; if we take the time to understand the history of Palestine, we will learn the root of this suffering is a settler colonial project that was constructed to maintain white supremacy. As a Mexican, I see it plainly. As a Canadian, I see it; it’s not far-fetched from the atrocious acts of the Canadian government against Indigenous peoples.

Additionally, well-known Vietnamese monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, who was exiled from Vietnam for his peace efforts during The Vietnam War, was extremely well-known for his work in bringing Israelis and Palestinians together at his community center, Plum Village, to create new pathways for peace. If Thich Nhat Hanh can talk about Palestine, then anyone can.

My journey with Palestinian liberation is one that is never-ending; I’ve featured Palestinian voices on my podcast, divested my money from big banks, buy products from Palestinian-led organization like Sitti, and fundraise for various organizations. Even if the media headlines say otherwise, there is a shift happening, and I’m grateful to be a part of it. Palestine is free in my heart. Free Palestine.