Mohammad Elkhatib when he stumbled into my writing class late one evening. After settling in, he told us about his newest venture: Palestine Writes Back, a literary platform dedicated to collecting and publishing Palestinian stories, creative writing and lived experience from Palestinians across the world.

As a writer myself, and someone who's often felt helpless in the face of the conflict, I knew he was onto something. We spoke after class and he explained the premise to me over an espresso. "We want Palestinians to tell their own stories. Too many people are speaking for them. I want the platform to be quiet, so we can hear them speak." The sincerity of the vision spoke to me. I knew I wanted to be part of it.