The Tilbury Road artwork depicts young Palestinians doing the traditional Dabke dance
By Marco Marcelline
A colourful mural of dancing Palestinians was unveiled today (6th February) in Leyton’s Tilbury Road.
The artwork coincides with a visit to Waltham Forest by eight young people from villages, towns and refugee camps across the West Bank and Jerusalem, hosted in partnership with the Palestinian youth project Beyond the Checkpoints.
Local resident Maito Jobbe Duval says she came up with the idea for a mural in March 2025.
Speaking to the Echo, she said: “It was a very dark moment in the Gaza genocide; the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) had been set up between Israel and the US and starving people getting shot at while trying to get they only food they could.
“I was having a drink in a Tilbury Road bar one night and as I looked around at the industrial landscape and empty walls in the car park in front of me, I decided that something could and should be done.”
With the help of Danny Saunders from the bar Leyton Calling, and local artist Tim Sanders, the mural went from an idea to reality.
Maito says: “We found a big beautiful wall, crowdfunded money to pay for artist fees, and then we figured out what mural we wanted to paint.”
Maito and Tim wrestled with various ideas before settling on a depiction of young Palestinians doing the traditional Dabke dance, which features synchronized, high-energy stomping, kicking, and jumping, typically led by a “ras” (leader) who waves a handkerchief while moving to rhythms from instruments like the oud, mijwiz and tabl.
Tim, who witnessed the dance on trips to Nablus in the West Bank, said: “It’s message is poignant. It says: ‘We’re here and it doesn’t matter how much you oppress us with your tanks, restrictions, and walls, we will still dance’.”
The mural unveiling event today (6th February) was organised by the Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association (CADFA), Waltham Forest Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and Tower Hamlets PSC.
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