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Laila: The only woman shopkeeper in the old city of Hebron

This podcast is the fourth in a series of six that will feature interviews with Palestinian women. Each woman featured in this series was photographed and interviewed. The purpose of this project was to demonstrate our (the artist’s) belief that every individual has an important purpose in society and this is a reason for them to be celebrated.

Laila is the only woman shopkeeper in the old city of Hebron. Along with her sister Nawal, Laila founded the Women in Hebron embroidery and crafts cooperative. Approximately 120 women work on the products in their homes or at the community center in a nearby town. Laila’s job is to be in the old city every day to sell these products. Local tour guides know Laila very well and they frequently bring their groups to stop at her shop and hear the story of Women in Hebron.

Story and photo credit : Katy Carlson
Voice by : Amani Asad
Editing : Emma Soerensen, Mohammad Alazza

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Fulla: a young Palestinian woman from Tulkarm

This podcast is the third in a series of six that will feature interviews with Palestinian women. Each woman featured in this series was photographed and interviewed. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate our (the artist’s) belief that every individual has an important role in society and this is the reason why they should be celebrated.

Fulla is a proud, 23-year-old woman from Tulkarm. She is full of joy and always keeping herself busy with activism projects. At the time of this interview she was working with some American professors to produce a documentary about the role of women in resistance of the occupation. Fulla studied English in University and now she teaches classes to children. She also uses her classes to discuss the occupation with the children and to build a passion for resistance in them. In the summers she sometimes works at a Palestinian heritage museum in Tulkarm.

Story and photo credit : Katy Carlson
Voice by : Fulla
Editing : Emma Soerensen, Mohammad Alazza

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Riham: A performance artist from Beit Sahour

This podcast is the second in a series of six that will feature interviews with Palestinian women. Each woman featured in this series was photographed and interviewed. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate our (the artist’s) belief that every individual has an important role in society and this is the reason why they should be celebrated.

Riham is a performance artist from Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem. She first earned her Bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy at Arab American University here in Palestine. After working for a few years she found her true passion in performance art. She traveled to London where she gained her Masters in Performance with other artists around the world. Now, she teaches classes, continues to work on personal projects, and is also working on coordinating artistic projects. One of them is a project with Khalil Alsakakni Cultural Center that is taking place during Qalandia International Festival 2014 in Ramallah.

Story and photo credit : Katy Carlson
Voice by : Riham
Editing : Emma Soerensen, Mohammad Alazza

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Najla’: The first woman bus-driver in the West Bank

This podcast is the first in a series of six that will feature interviews with Palestinian women. Each woman featured in this series was photographed and interviewed. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate our (the artist’s) belief that every individual has an important role in society and this is the reason why they should be celebrated.

In April 2014, Najla’ became the first woman bus-driver in the West Bank. She has become a familiar face for many around the villages of the city of Tulkarm. Najla’ attended a bus-driving school and had to pass 12 driving tests before she received her license. On many days, she finds that the social aspect of her job is even more demanding than the actual task of driving the bus. She has received a wide range of reactions from other Palestinians, but she continues to be very proud of her job. Aside from driving a bus, Najla’ is also an outspoken resistor of the Israeli occupation.

Story and photo credit : Katy Carlson
Voice by : Isra’ Abusrour
Editing : Emma Soerensen, Mohammad Alazza

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My Nakba

1948 was the year when 700.000 Palestinians were expelled from their villages, and 413 villages were destroyed completely by the Zionist militias. In the following podcast you will hear interviews by two Palestinian refugees telling their personal story of how they were excluded from their village, became refugees and ended up in Aida Camp. The interviews are narrated by their grandchildren, who are refugees today because their grandparents were expelled.
This is their story.

Story by: Amaja El-Ozzo, Layan Al-Azza & Pernille Sørensen
Narration by: Saja Ajarmeh & Mohammad Abo Scrour
Voices by: Ragd Ajarmeh & Miras Al-Azza
Music by: Trio Joubran
Poems by: Ramzy Baroud & Remi Kanazi

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Pope Francis visiting Bethlehem

Today, 25th of May, Pope Francis came to Bethlehem for a religious visit. As anyone that visits Bethlehem knows, it is impossible to visit for religious purposes without also noticing the present political situation. He drove past the watchtower at the entrance to Bethlehem in his so-called ‘pope-mobile’ and was welcomed by the people of Aida refugee Camp. At the watchtower, the Pope surprised everyone by getting out of his vehicle, walking to the apartheid wall, and laying hands on the wall in prayer, just beneath numerous anti-occupation slogans that had been spray-painted on it.

The municipality of Bethlehem spent weeks preparing for the Pope’s visit by beautifying the streets and fixing up Nativity Square.  Some residents felt that this gave him a false image of the region, but they still had hope that he would see the reality and feel compelled to make a statement about it.

Story by : Kate Carlson, Mohammad Al-Azza  & Pernille Sørensen
Interview : Habshe Yossef, Mohammad Abu Srour & Mohammad Al-Azza
Voice by : Isra’ Abusrour

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Fayrouz was once Nihad Haddad

Nihad Wadih Haddad, better known as Fayrouz, was born on November twenty-first, 1935 in Lebanon.

She is considered to be one of the most famous Arab artists of those who are still living today.

Her love for singing and flowers was rivaled only by her love for her grandmother. Fayruz used to spend most of the summer holidays at her grandmother’s house, assisting her in the housework during the day and listening to her stories at night.

Fayrouz’s father had saved some money of his meager income for his children’s education.  It was at school that her voice immediately attracted the staff’s attention for it has as a unique quality. She was a good and hard working student though she hated mathematics.

Her career began in 1952 when she first started singing for audiences. Her first large-scale concert was in 1957 and by 1960 she was known as the first lady of Lebanese singing.

Today, Fayrouz is known worldwide. The Arab world listens to her music especially in the morning.

She continues to be known as one of the most famous singers in the Arab world.

Story By : ِAreej Asad, Mohammad Alazza, .

Photo credit : Lajee center

Music by : Fayrouz

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Those who pass between fleeting words

A group of young Palestinians have been engaged in this project at Lajee Center: Radio Lajee recording the poem “Those Who Pass Between Fleeting Words” written by the famous Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. Darwish wrote this poem in 1988 during the first intifada and the direct and uncompromising words caused a great stir in Israel. Israel’s then Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir, quoted the poem in the Israeli Knesset to “prove” that the PLO posed a threat to existence of the Zionist state. In response, Darwish said that he found it “difficult to believe that the most militarily powerful country in the Middle East is threatened by a poem”.

Story By : Saeed Dajneeh, Ala’a Dajneeh, Yasmin Alazraq, Miras Alazzeh, Isra’ Abusrour, Fatima Salah, Mariam Abu Aisha, Mahmoud Albarmil, Mohammad Alazza, Nanna Bak, Marie Lund Nielsen.

Photo credit : Lajee center

Music by : Le Trio Joubran

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Between Czech Republic and Palestine

My name is Lucy Shomali , and I’m half Czech, half Palestinian.I come to Beit
Sahour almost every summer to spend the holidays with my family. I am
proud to claim my origin, but it is not easy to be the strange one wherever I go.
I try to help Palestine by sharing my experience, so here is my
story.

Narrated by: Lucy Shomali

Photo credit: Mohammad Alazza

Music by : Le Trio Joubran

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Mahmoud Darwish

Mahmoud Darwish was a Palestinian poet who devoted his life fighting for human rights for Palestinians. He suffered much during his life for his commitment to this struggle, including exile and imprisonment. He is well known as the voice of the Palestinian people, but his poems are cherished by people from all over the world. Darwish passed away in August of 2008. This segment is written and narrated by seventeen year old Shatha Saleem who is originally from Beit Mahseer in Palestine, but now lives in Amman, Jordan.

Photo credit:Mohammad Alazza

Narrated by: Shatha Saleem

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