Georgetown University graduate student Aisha Jitan speaks with Palestinian psychiatrist, psychotherapist and writer Dr. Samah Jabr on the subject of mental health in Gaza while challenging Western ideas of how trauma is held and carried in one's body. By drawing upon her experiences as a health care practitioner, the director of the mental health unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and a trainer of mental health professionals in Gaza, Dr. Jabr sheds light upon the deep-rooted effects of living under Israeli occupation and in the case of Gaza, siege. Dr. Jabr's insights are useful for application beyond the case of Palestine, as she radically challenges notions of how mental health ought to be treated under conditions of injustice and oppression and how healing work can be used toward the liberation of a people.

Guest Bio
Dr. Samah Jabr is a Palestinian Jerusalemite psychiatrist, psychotherapist and writer. Since 2016, she has been Chair of the Mental Health Unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and has written columns about the psychological consequences of the Israeli occupation in Palestine since the 2000s. Inspired by anticolonial psychiatrist Frantz Fanon, her areas of interest include mental health, colonialism and universal human rights.

Georgetown University graduate student Nisrine Hilizah speaks to guests Houda Mzioudet and Amuna Ali about the ways in which social media is being used to call attention to anti-black racism in the Arab world.

Guest Bios

Houda Mzioudet is a Tunisian researcher, journalist, and anti-racist activist. She co-founded ADAM, the first black Tunisian association, and the Voice of Tunisian Black Women collective. Between 2011 and 2018, Mzioudet covered the uprisings and their aftermaths in Tunisia and Libya for international outlets, including Al Jazeera English, CBC, and BBC. Houda is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Toronto.

Amuna Ali is a Somali-Yemeni Anti-racist activist. Born and raised in the United Arab Emirates, Amuna is the founder of the social media page BlackArabsCollective, an Instagram page that serves as "a platform to share the stories and amplify the voices of Black Arabs." Amuna holds two master's degrees, one in Innovation and Change Management and another in Sports Management.

Georgetown University graduate student Nooran Alhamdan speaks with three Palestinian American students - Omar Zahzah, Rasha Anayah, and Yasmeen Mashayekh - who have been targets of rightwing Zionists blacklists and their affiliated websites to discuss this growing problem of free speech, digital rights, and academic freedom.