When our friend Ali Mustafa was killed in Syria — along with 7 others on March 9, 2014 by an aerial bombing carried out by the Assad government — our utter shock, anger, grief, confusion, loss, and other complex emotions and memories found form, in part, in public gatherings, reflections and visual tributes.
Two images drawn by Nidal El-Khairy were screenprinted onto posters that we wheatpasted in Toronto neighbourhoods that Ali frequented. By chance, the posters perfectly fit into the in-lays of these concrete pillars.
Artist Omar Fathy created a mural of Ali in Cairo. And friends in Toronto created banners with flowers or plants indigenous to Egypt (jasmine sambac), Palestine (sage), Syria (hibiscus), Brazil (ipe amarelo), and Turtle Island (tobacco), representing Ali’s internationalist spirit and commitment to meaningful solidarity.
Speaking Event and Vigil at York University
HM poster with photo by Ali Mustafa from Occupy Cabinet Clashes in Egypt, 2011
Rest in power Ali.
