Yara Maraqa was born in occupied East Jerusalem, “this spot of the world where everything is politicized since childhood. Raised up in the midst of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has taught me that freedom is never a thing to be granted but a thing to be pursued. I believe that freedom of thought and peace are the beginnings for other pursued types of freedom.” Yara earned a B.A in International Relations and is currently a graduate student in International Political Economy (IPE) at Istanbul Bilgi University, and is an intern at the PIJ.