The Key to Justice: The Right of Return for Palestinians

A key might seem like an ordinary object, but for Palestinians, it is a powerful symbol of our Right to Return home - to what was illegally taken from us. Since the Nakba of 1948, when over 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled from their homes, the key has represented the Right of Return - a fundamental human right calling for justice and restoration, a right enshrined in international law but still denied to millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

First proposed in 1948 and embedded in several UN resolutions and international humanitarian laws, the Right of Return affirms that refugees should be allowed to return to their homes at the earliest practical date. Yet, despite this clear mandate from international law, this inalienable right has been denied to Palestinians for over 75 years. Millions of Palestinians living in the diaspora and in refugee camps scattered across the region are still waiting to return to their homeland.

For decades, families have kept the keys to their ancestral homes, passing them down from one generation to the next. More than just a piece of intricately crafted metal, these keys carry memories of gardens, orchards, and olive trees; the laughter of children playing in the streets; the smell of freshly baked bread from the neighborhood bakery. They are a powerful symbol of a people’s belonging and their Right to Return to what was stolen, to reclaim their property, their dignity, and their history. By holding onto these keys - whether they are real or kept in our hearts - we hold onto the hope that one day, the injustice will end, and the right to return will become a reality.

"Free the Right of Return" is a call for justice and recognition. It is a demand to honor a universal right and to support the return of families to the lands they were torn from. When you stand with us in saying, “Free the Right of Return,” you are standing for justice and the right of every Palestinian to live with dignity on their own land.

Free the Right of Return. Free Palestine.