FEBRUARY2007

Newsletter Issue 1 Jenin, January 2007

Dear Friends,
 
Welcome to the first Message from The Freedom Theatre! This is the first crack we are making in the wall which continues to leave Jenin and the rest of the West Bank in complete isolation. This is the voice of the children who each day face the sounds of tanks and guns, and the silence of the world. It is the voice of the children of Jenin Refugee Camp. One of these children is Asma, whose story offers some insight into the trauma and hardships experienced by children and adults alike in Jenin Camp as a result of the Israeli occupation. Together with Asma and the other children, we continue our attempts to counter the oppression by creating a space in which to enjoy culture, theatre and a little normality.

The Freedom Theatre

Asma

Asma Narnariye is 12 and lives in Jenin Refugee Camp. We met her 8 months ago and have since learned her story. She is the youngest of seven sisters and brothers, two of whom have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli soldiers during the Second Intifada.

Asma, like many other children in the camp, is deeply traumatised by the violence inflicted on her family and others in her immediate surroundings. "I cannot cry anymore", she says. Her brother Osama was killed four years ago, aged 21, and Ahmad was killed last summer, at the age of 15. The army claimed his death was a mistake. "At night", Asma tells us, "I have nightmares about the army coming to kill or arrest my brothers."

Two of Asma's other brothers, Nidal and Mohammad, are in prison. When Asma was 8, soldiers came to her family's house and ordered everyone out. They were looking for Nidal, in order to arrest him. Asma's eldest brother Adnan was ordered to call Nidal, who was not in the house at the time, to come out. When he did not appear, the soldiers proceeded to destroy Asma's family home with a bulldozer. Nidal was arrested two years later and sentenced to 17 years in prison. Mohammad was arrested four months ago.

"I want to be an actress!" says Asma. "I want to travel the world and perform! In one of the exercises in the theatre I imitated a bird flying above my neighbourhood, above Jenin and the sea. It was like a dream."

Theatre Activities Gain Support

Thanks to recent grants and donations The Freedom Theatre is now able to run new and more regular workshops in both acting and psychodrama with the children of Jenin.

Two new acting groups were recently set up with the help of a very generous donation by the renowned theatre director Peter Brook. A group of girls aged 14-16 and a group of boys aged 15-18 are now participating in acting workshops, under the instruction of The Freedom Theatre's Artistic Director, Juliano Mer Khamis. Currently, these young people are learning basic acting and dramatic skills, but it is hoped they will stage their own plays in the future.

Groups of younger children are also participating in Psychodrama Workshops, made possible through a recently approved grant from the Karim Rida Said Foundation in the UK. These workshops use a therapeutic methodology, allowing the children to express their emotions in a constructive and playful way. Through dramatic improvisation, and by taking on roles previously unfamiliar to them, the children explore new ways of thinking and of solving problems.

There Is a Theatre in Jenin

Soon more regular performances will also be presented in the temporary theatre which has been undergoing extensive renovation. We are planning a schedule for staging two performances each week, one aimed at children and the other for the adults of Jenin Camp and its surroundings. As the only active theatre in northern Palestine, the Freedom Theatre is unique and will, hopefully, reach a wide audience in the Jenin area.

To cover the expenses for the planned performances, The Freedom Theatre was recently awarded an important grant from the Unity Theatre Trust in the U.K., as well as additional support from the British Shalom-Salaam Trust (BSST).

Support Us!
The long-term sustainability of The Freedom Theatre depends on the generous donations of you and your friends, » Click here to get more info

New Computer Centre

At the beginning of November, The Freedom Theatre opened its new Ahmad El-Khatib Computer Centre. Set up thanks to the contribution of Daniel S. Abraham from the United States, this centre includes 17 new computers with internet connection, as well as a projector and a screen.
 
Since activities at the centre began, hundreds of boys and girls have registered for classes in basic computer skills. These classes aim to give the children the foundation required for more advanced Creative Computer Workshops and Multimedia Workshops that will be run at the centre in the future.

At the donor's request, the centre has been created in memory of Ahmad El-Khatib who was killed by the Israeli army in Jenin Camp around a year ago, aged 12, and whose parents decided to donate his organs to three Israeli children. Through our work at this centre we hope to continue to spread this message of mutual respect and solidarity among people.
 
» Click here to see pictures of the new computer center

World-Wide Exhibition Opens in Jenin

On January 12, 2007, The Freedom Theatre opened its world-wide exhibition Do Not Forget – Lebanon, July 2006 in Jenin Refugee Camp.
 
The event was a great success, with more than 150 people attending from Ramallah, Nazareth, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Nablus, including the ambassador of Brazil. Many of the guests, who had never visited the northern West Bank before, now made the journey through and around endless checkpoints. 
 
The opening event included poetry readings and songs by the children of the camp, a music performance by Nisreen Kadri, a singer from Haifa, and speeches by the Mayor of Jenin and the Director of Jenin Camp, among others.

The exhibition which is displayed throughout the centre includes photography, digital montage, video art and paintings by Palestinian and international artists as well as works by children in the camp. In this artistic act of solidarity, the children and artists reflect on the War in Lebanon and the situation in Occupied Palestine. The exhibition is supported by the A.M. Qattan Foundation.
 
» Click here to see pictures of the Exhibition opening

Fundraising for The Freedom Theatre

In addition to the grants and donations mentioned above, The Freedom Theatre's networks of friends have also been active in staging events and raising funds in Europe and the United States.

In October, the Friends of The Freedom Theatre in the United States was set up as an official association, working to mobilise people from the world of theatre, the arts, and other fields, to participate in fundraising activities and events.

Early in December, two other fundraising events were organised, one in Brussels and one in Paris. In Brussels, l'Union des Progressifs Juifs de Belgique, (UPJB - Union of Progressive Jews in Belgium) organised an event called "Six Hours for The Freedom Theatre", which began with a screening of "Arna's Children" and continued with different music and dance performances. During the event, the UPJB youth group produced three large paintings related to the situation in Palestine, which will be presented at our exhibition.

In Paris, Les Amis du Théâtre de la Liberté de Jénine, (ATL - The Friends of The Freedom Theatre) also organised a fundraising evening. Various short films from Palestine and The Freedom Theatre were screened, and a panel discussion held.

In Germany a newly established network of friends and supporters also held a successful screening of "Arna's Children" in November, whereas an official Friends of The Freedom Theatre association was recently registered in Malmo, Sweden.

All this is great news, but we mustn't forget that we are still in great need of all the support we can get. However, we express our gratitude to all our donors, and to our good friends in the U.S. and in Europe, who helped to organise the above events, and who continue to stand by our side and raise funds for our projects!

Support Us!

To support our work with the children of Jenin, you can:

• Make a bank transfer directly to our account, more info »
• Donate online using PayPal, more info »
• Set up a monthly payment to The Freedom Theatre, more info »
• Buy a copy of the film Arna's Children, more info »

For information on how you can support The Freedom Theatre's work with the children of Jenin Refugee Camp, please see:
http://www.thefreedomtheatre.org/support.php

Contact us: info@thefreedomtheatre.org
Website: http://www.thefreedomtheatre.org