Jamila & The Other Heroes Sing for Hope & Resistance in 'Hijarna'

Berlin-based group, Jamila & The Other Heroes, have released one of their most emotionally charged singles yet with ‘Hijarna’, or ‘Our Stones’. Blending the band’s signature psychedelic desert rock sound with a powerful meditation on grief, resistance and collective memory, the track arrives as both a political statement and an emotional release.

Built around the metaphor of stones, ‘Hijarna’ reflects on the emotional weight carried across generations while also highlighting the resilience that emerges through solidarity. Driven by soaring guitars, hypnotic rhythms and Jamila Al-Yousef’s intense vocal performance, the song transforms mourning into movement, balancing sorrow with moments of catharsis and release.

The accompanying music video pushes those ideas even further. Directed in Berlin by Elisa Ward and Laura Schramm, with Palestinian cinematographer Abdallah Milhem, the visual follows Jamila carrying a kuffiyah bag filled with stones through a surreal space between the living and the dead. Along the way, erased Palestinian narratives begin resurfacing through encounters with musicians, journalists, mothers, medics and artists.

Featuring more than 70 participants from Palestinian, Syrian, Lebanese and Tunisian communities, the video gradually shifts from personal grief into collective resistance. Its final moments unfold as a music protest and communal dance ritual around an olive tree, where stones are laid down in remembrance of those killed.

Coming from Berlin, the project also arrives in a politically charged climate, where Palestinian voices and solidarity movements have increasingly faced censorship and police crackdowns.

Named after Jamila Al-Yousef’s Palestinian grandmother, Jamila & The Other Heroes continue to carve out their own lane between psych rock, diasporic storytelling and politically rooted live energy, creating music that feels both deeply personal and openly confrontational.