In a small cafe on a quiet street in Mexico City, football shirts have become more than just merchandise.
Designed using the colours and symbols of Palestine, the jerseys hanging on the walls of Ingrid Leone's Josefina Y Su Cafe are intended to spark conversation, raise awareness and help fund education programmes halfway across the world, in the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
With Mexico co-hosting the Fifa World Cup, the timing felt right, says Leone.
“I started creating these jerseys and T-shirts in support of Palestine,” she tells The National. “I think it's important to have visibility on the street in every place you go.”
While the Palestinian keffiyeh has become an internationally recognised symbol of solidarity, Leone says clothing offers another way for people to express support in everyday life.
“Besides wearing a keffiyeh, the T-shirts are easier sometimes to wear for us,” she says. “That's why I created this football jersey.”
Leone is a graphic designer by profession and designs the garments herself, using “black market” football jerseys as a canvas for Palestinian imagery, Arabic lettering and traditional tatreez-inspired motifs.
One white jersey features the Arabic word for Palestine across the front, while another incorporates birds carrying the flags of Palestine, Lebanon and Mexico.
“I use my talent and my ability to create different materials to support and to send a message, depending on what I want to communicate,” she says.
The project began more than two years ago, but has expanded beyond apparel. Today, the cafe also serves as a community space filled with Palestinian artworks and books.
“It's a space for resistance, for resilience, for conversations, for connection,” she says. “Every time that you come here and buy a coffee, you can catch a glimpse of resistance in every little detail.”
The jerseys are also fundraising tools, which Leona describes as “the biggest part” of the concept. Proceeds from every purchase are donated directly to Azahir, a community-based educational organisation working in the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp.
Leone says the money supports education programmes, heritage activities, including dabke and tatreez, as well as a football academy that brings together Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian children living in the camp.
“It's important to give something to the community, to these children who need support,” she says. “Education right now is an act of resistance.”
Although customers often visit specifically looking for Palestine-themed designs, Leone says many know little about the conflict before stepping inside.
“I get two different reactions,” she says. “One is from people who are looking for these designs and images, and are clear that they want to share visibility about Palestine on the streets. The other is from people who didn't know about Palestine.”
She hopes the jerseys will become an entry point for those unfamiliar with what has been happening.
“These images and these messages create a starting point to learn something they didn't know,” she adds. “They want to ask a little bit more. It's a good starting conversation.”
For Leone, the project isn't only political but also personal. She was born in Venezuela and lives in Mexico, but her father was of Colombian-Lebanese descent.
When it comes to why she supports Palestine, her answer is simple.
“First of all, I'm a human. Second of all, yes, I have heritage from Lebanon, but it's also a cause that is intertwined with what is happening also here in Mexico, so it's important for me.”
As more World Cup fans descend on the country, she hopes some leave with more than football memories.
“I think it's important to have visibility,” she says. “Every time somebody wears one of these jerseys, they carry that message with them.”
