The story of Milad

The name Milad means "birth" in Arabic. As Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, we want to highlight another miraculous Palestinian birth: the arrival of a child named Milad Walid Daqa.

Milad was born in February 2020, conceived through sperm smuggled from Al Ramleh Israeli Prison to Ramallah. Her parents, Walid Daqqa, a Palestinian political prisoner, and her mother, journalist Sana’ Salameh, had been married since 1999 but were denied their right to build a family.

In a letter commemorating his twenty-fifth year in prison, Walid wrote to his unborn child, Milad:
"From all that I have smuggled out from my memory, you are the most beautiful: you are a message to the future."

Walid Daqa was held beyond his official sentence, in blatant violation of any humanitarian principles—if such principles exist in an apartheid state. He died inside an Israeli prison, from deliberate and intentional medical neglect by Israeli authorities. Even in death, his family is denied peace, as his body remains in the custody of Al Ramleh prison despite numerous appeals for its release.

This year, Sana’ and Milad spoke at the People’s Conference for Palestine, sharing lessons of the prisoners’ movement in Palestine and the struggle for liberation. 

Sana’ said ‘Walid and I just wanted to have a child like any two people who marry. Because of our situation, to demand this basic right is to have a grand achievement, and you’ve upset the occupation.’

(You can watch/read their speech here:https://bitly.cx/KGTyA or https://bitly.cx/LQoP)