04-09-2024
The ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip has affected all walks of life, including the cultural sector. All components of the latter underwent acts of deliberate destruction, as the genocide aims to wipe out Palestine’s cultural and artistic heritage; destroy its cultural centres, rituals, and archaeological sites; and burn its libraries and archives. This genocide also led to the expulsion, displacement, and killing of dozens of artists, writers, researchers, and academics. Consequently, Gaza and its people, heritage, books, portraiture, and pictures are all subject to obliteration and erasure.
In light of this bloody genocide, many recent literatures focuses on the usefulness and role of culture and the arts, and the prioritization of interventions and the “hierarchy” of losses and needs. For example, how can one compare the loss of a house with the loss of one’s life, or losing one’s home compared to intense hunger, thirst, pain, or physical wounds? At this point, the psychological, mental, and emotional impact and their future implications and ramifications are considered relatively less urgent.
Through strong determination, our friend Mahdi Karira established a puppet theater with almost non-existent resources: he carries the theatre materials between shelters, despite the great difficulty and dangers. In his words: “This is because we want to enhance our country and build our souls in a way that expresses us and goes in line with our inner aspirations and the spirit of giving. This enables us to prevent the Occupation from stripping us of our humanity, hopes, and ambitions and taking away our spaces. It also confronts their plans of making us isolated introverts.” Karira’s statements are consistent with artist Basel El Maqousi, who reiterates that: “I paint in order to remain a vigilant and sensitive human being, and so that the war would not take away my dignity and humanity.”
To listen to the full interview with the artist Mahdi Karira, click here.
In this report, we review some initiatives implemented by our colleagues in Gaza, who used visual and performance art tools to confront genocidal violence and the ceaseless murder machine. This artistic expression was employed to attain the goal of alleviating the impact of war on children and preserving their humanity and emotions. This aims to mitigate the situation as we seek to preserve life, beauty, and togetherness, despite the state of oppression, ongoing killing, and destruction.
This report focuses on the initiatives of activists and coordinators working with children. However, it does not track the teachers’ initiatives, relief aid initiatives, and others.
At Al-Fakhour School shelter (accommodation center) in Jabalia Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip, where there is neither water nor food, performing arts trainer Ahmad Tafesh utilizes the voice and rhythm for the psychological benefit of children. Ahmad works with approximately 24 children there, training them to sing songs and play rhythms with simple tools, such as wooden objects and empty food utensils.
Tafesh focuses on group singing to create harmony between participants. This is done through various activities that enhance group and collaborative performance, with the aim of strengthening bonds between displaced children from different areas and creating a sense of support and strength.
Similarly, performing arts trainer Yousef Hasbullah uses performance to bolster the confidence of 27 children, aged 7-15 years, at al-Hurriyya Clinic in al-Zarqa neighbourhood, northeast of Gaza City. This carries the same purpose of enhancing group performance and collective work. This is done through training the children to perform movements and formations, culminating in performing art shows and competitions.
Many children are displaced to areas they did not know before, far from their neighbours and even (sometimes) their families. This causes them tremendous emotional confusion and creates fear and insecurity due to a lack of safety and belonging. It also causes children to fear interacting with others, losing their self-confidence. Hence, many trainers implement group activities that require cooperation and joint work, meeting new children, and exploring different spaces and mutual interests, thus building new friendships and emotionally interactive relationships.
Expression through Drawing
On the other hand, visual artist Alaa Shahwan works with children who have returned to their original areas after being displaced, especially in Khan Yunis. She moves between displacement camps and streets (or whatever remains of them!), working with children in Khan Yunis city centre, al-Amal neighbourhood, internally displaced person camps Mawasi Khan Yunis,, Ahmad Abdul-Aziz School, and others.
Shahwan seeks to encourage children to express their living experiences by drawing and directly interacting with their surrounding reality. Examples include drawing on the rubble of demolished homes. She also employs tools that reduce children’s feelings of danger and distraction, such as music and games.
Regarding an exercise implemented by Shahwan in shelter schools located in Khan Yunis, she notes that: “The ‘My Dream’ activity is one of the most beautiful activities that I have implemented. It enables children to openly express their dreams and aspirations. For example, some children dream to become doctors to treat injured persons, while others wish to become policemen to defend their homeland.”
Dolls and Toys from Recycled Waste
In order to enhance children’s interaction with their reality and surroundings, artist Amani Khreibi has been working with a group of 15 children in al-Mahatta area in Khan Yunis. This involves learning new ways to benefit from recycled waste, with special emphasis on creating new dolls and toys, which have become very rare in Gaza.
Khreibi has a strong care and commitment to the environment, which can seem like madness amidst massive destruction. However, she firmly believes that preserving this trait in children’s minds is a great aim due to its significant educational impact. This approach affirms their ownership of these spaces despite Israeli violations, while hoping to remove the remnants of this horrendous war very soon.
In this training, children transform their destroyed belongings—or objects found in their bombarded homes—into toys, decorations, and other things. This also helps them unleash their creativity and imagination and cling firmly to the desire to return and rebuild.
Expressive Movement to Highlight Hunger
Another important initiative is that of performing arts trainer Ibrahim al-Tanna, who works with children in al-Fakhoura School shelter in the Beit Lahia project in northern Gaza. He employs movement and exercise methods to shed light on children’s living conditions in light of the current genocide and famine in Northern Gaza. Al-Tanna has been working with approximately 18 girls aged 7-15 years.
Children in Gaza are forced to engage with overwhelming issues and obligations that far surpass their young age. Although many young girls also bear this burden, circumstances force the young boys to carry the load. This encompasses heavy responsibilities, such as providing food and water and taking care of their siblings, especially if they have lost one or both parents, or siblings are unable to meet their needs, thus doubling the burden. However, the current situation prevents many children from providing a livelihood as they attempt to be the breadwinners, oftentimes in vain.
The daily atrocities of this war of extermination strips Gaza’s children of their childhood. This occurs through attrition and subjection to dire, inhumane conditions, systematically designed since the beginning of the aggression. s These children have been described as “children of darkness” as a prelude to slaughtering them, while creating a world “normalized” with genocidal acts committed against children. It is also worth noting that, according to economic indicators, the poverty rate in Gaza is expected to rise sharply by 20 to 45 percent, depending on the duration of this aggression.
Popular Games that “Silence” the Sound of Planes
With the convergence of childhood with identity, authenticity, and connection to the land, trainer Hussein Zweidi employs popular games in his activities. He does not keep these games spontaneous but focuses on children’s concentration. For example, he uses games that require children to detach from the surrounding environment and concentrate fully on the current activity.
Through these exercises, Zweidi attempts to “disconnect” children from the sound of planes around them and the awful scenes ingrained in their minds. Thus, he aims to bring back their childhoods in an unguarded moment, even for only one hour a day, hoping that this gives them space to have a better picture of the world. The activities attract large numbers of children, with each session ranging between 37 and 41.
A similar method is used by trainer Salim Abu-Jasser, who uses popular games focused on screaming, singing, and loud voices as a mechanism of discharge. However, due to congested spaces and overcrowded shelters, it is no longer easy for children to express themselves, or even to get angry or scream.
Eyes Looking Towards the Future
In most of the abovementioned activities (which only present a sample), talks about the future, dreams, and wishes are presented for children, as these topics are what interested them the most. This caught the attention of many trainers and enhanced their work and communication. The integration of this aspect reflected positively on the children and their behaviour and mentality despite the trainers’ limited resources and tools. This led to enhancing the trainers’ faith in their vital role and strengthened their drive to overcome all obstacles. However, this work is not easy and traumatic incidents in the past have unfolded. For example, the performers might work with children, only to find out that they were killed in the blink of an eye.
Our colleague Hadeel al-Madhoun suffered from such an incident, as she lost many of the children she previously worked with. She used to tell them beautiful stories, and they would share their dreams and aspirations. She used to regularly visit Hamama School in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza City before it was bombarded by Israeli planes. But al-Madhoun did not give up and is continuing her work through an initiative titled “Glimmer of Hope.”
She aims to work with as many children as possible. It is also worth noting that numerous children in Gaza, including northern Gaza, are suffering from dermatological diseases due to the severe shortage of personal hygiene supplies. Through her well-designed activities, al-Madhoun seeks to raise children’s awareness to preserve their health and wellbeing. Some children stopped participating in activities face-to-face due to contracting infectious diseases. This led al-Madhoun to devise an effective way to communicate with their parents, as she sends them activity tools to be implemented with their children. For example, she sends them papers and illustrated stories or comics to colour while at home, so that the children wouldn’t feel isolated or disconnected.