In this episode of The Mutual Aid Podcast israa’ and Ayman speak with Yaffa. Their conversation weaves theory and practice as they tease out defining characteristics of mutual aid and clarify how mutual aid, resource distribution, and community care differ and interact with each other. Yaffa’s expansive experience as an organizer and writer helps us dig into the technicalities of language and how that manifests in our practice. As the conversation progresses, we turn to the role of strategy and tactics in our movements and organizing spaces and how clarity in language helps us gain clarity in our strategy and tactics.

Mx. Yaffa (They/Them) is a disabled, autistic, trans, queer, Muslim, and Indigenous Palestinian. As Executive Director of the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD), they have earned multiple awards for their transformative work on displacement, decolonization, and equity. Yaffa is also an engineer, peer support specialist, death doula, birthing doula, and yoga teacher.

They are the author of Blood Orange, a poetry collection on displacement and colonization; editor of Inara: Light of Utopia, an anthology by queer and trans-Palestinians; and author of Desecrated Poppies, a poetry and essay collection about the connections between anti-trans and anti-Palestinian politics. Their new book, Living to 99, will be released Feb 14th and Letters from a Living Utopia will be released in May 14th.

Yaffa is also a visual artist, showcasing their work worldwide at festivals and art galleries. Yaffa debuted their one-person show, Harvesting Olives, created with support from Rad Pereira, in NYC, October 2024.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Whispers Beneath the Orange Grove by Yaffa As

A Conversation with Dean Spade by The Mutual Aid Podcast

Support QT Palestinians & the first QTM helpline by MASGD

SAD MUTUAL AID FUND FOR Queer and trans Palestinians and front line organizers

For More:

Yaffa is on Bluesky, TikTok, and IG.

israa’ is on Bluesky and IG.

Ayman is on Bluesky and IG.

The Mutual Aid Podcast is on IG, YouTube, and BlueSky.⁠

From The Periphery is on ⁠Patreon⁠, YouTube⁠, Instagram, and has a website⁠

Credits: 

Hosts - israa and Ayman

Artwork - Hisham Rifai

Music - Beit Youssef and Ramsey Khudairi

The Mutual Aid Podcast is a proud member of ⁠⁠⁠⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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