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The young actors and actresses of the Palestinian Al-Rowwad Theatre Group. |
Her eyes and the tattoo on her hands are Palestinian,
Her name, Palestinian,
Her dreams and sorrow, Palestinian,
Her kerchief, her feet and body, Palestinian,
Her words and her silence, Palestinian,
Her voice, Palestinian,
Her birth and her death, Palestinian.
Those verses of the great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwich were the words Al- Rowwad Theatre Group used as an introduction to all their performances in Cairo last week.
“We Are the Children of the Camp” opened with playful gestures. The young actors and actresses of the Palestinian Al-Rowwad Theatre Group entered the stage energetically greeting and jesting with each other in a carefree pantomime.
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| Al-Rowwad logo. |
The actors are life-long residents of the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. Under the direction and guidance of Dr. Abdel Fattah Abu Srour, the children of the camp put up a “beautiful resistance” in the face of Israeli occupation.
“We Are the Children of the Camp” juxtaposed video footage with live acting to give audiences the opportunity to put a human face on the violence that often seems so far removed from their realities.
The performance began with a short video history of the Israeli occupation, which was then retold orally with song and interpretive dance. It was the actors’ commentary on the video, and reaffirmation of the events successfully gave context to the imagery. The most effective part of the performance in terms of rousing the emotions of the audience was at a point in which the dialogue between the actors and the video actually became an interaction. An explosion rang out on the video projection and the children on the stage dived for the floor covering their heads. This very visceral exchange between the abstracted sights and sounds of media and the all too human reactions of the children on stage hit home with many audience members, leaving some in tears.
Al-Rowwad Theatre Group was brought to Cairo through the efforts of Faculty for Palestine at the American University in Cairo (AUC) and as a part of AUC’s Year of Palestine initiative. Along with two performances of “We Are the Children of the Camp”, AUC hosted an evening of “Testimonies by Al-Rowwad Children”, a “Dabka Dance and Puppet Show” for children and an evening lecture with Al-Rowwad director, Dr. Abdel Fattah Abu Srour.
Faculty for Palestine has hosted many other guests as part of the Year of Palestine initiative. Edward Said and Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwich have been among the most esteemed. This is not to mention many other guests, art exhibitions and performances that focused on cultural expression to understand and cope with the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict.
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| Children living in the Aida Camp participate in something truly human in the face of so much inhumanity . |
Al-Rowwad Theatre Group was created especially for this purpose. Dr. Abdel Fattah Abu Srour felt the need to give the children living in the Aida Camp an outlet for creative, constructive expression and the opportunity to participate in something truly human in the face of so much inhumanity.
"The main aim of this declared year of Palestine has been to raise in permanent consciousness the struggle that the Palestinians face everywhere in their daily life," Nada Essa, a student in Faculty for Palestine told IslamOnline. “It has also acted as a focus for action, including the gathering together of a 4-truck strong humanitarian convoy, the funding of a permanent scholarship at Birzeit University, and the Al-Rowwad project initiative itself,” Nada added.
The initiative of bringing Al-Rowwad Theatre Group to Cairo was proposed in September 2002. Since then a steering committee of Faculty for Palestine has worked patiently and diligently to realize the dream of bringing them here.
When asked at the lecture about the potency of art as a form resistance, Dr. Abdel Fattah’s reply was one that affirmed his belief that there is more than one form of resistance.
The form of resistance he chooses for the children of the Aida Camp is a peaceful one. Dr. Abdel Fattah understands that these children are going to grow up to be the leaders of the country and will be better able to deal with conflicts in a non-violent way if they are given way to express their fear and frustration in a way that promotes understanding.
Dr. Abdel Fattah also believes that it is very beneficial that the children in his theatre group are able to travel and perform for audiences outside of the Camp in order for audiences to better understand what the Palestinian children are going through. Dr. Abdel Fattah also made it clear at his lecture last Wednesday night that “These performances are not in the spirit of charity, but, rather in the spirit of an exchange.”
And in regards to the idea of exchange, he said, “Travel is important for the children in the group to present a situation that better enables them to understand the uniqueness and abnormality of their situation.”
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| Al-Rowwad is a place for life to flourish. |
It is important for the children to perform for foreign audiences, but it has been very difficult for them to gain permission to travel. In the year 2000, performances were easily held in Sweden and Denmark, but organizing a visit to Cairo took eight months along with two long months to get the children their travel visas.
In a special interview with the director of Al-Rowwad Center, Dr. Abdel Fattah Abu Srour, he said that Al-Rowwad Culture and Theatre Center is located in Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem.
“Our goal behind building this center was to provide a focus for cultural, artistic, and theatrical resistance to the Israeli occupation,” he said.
He added that he was born in Aida Refugee Camp, then he traveled to France to continue his studies. After he went back to Palestine in 1994, he found that the children of the camp had no place to play, so they played in the streets, where they become victims of the Israeli army and its bullets. So he started to think about a place where the children of the camp would have an opportunity to learn and play.
“I do not want the child to die; I do not want to add a new number to the list of martyrs. In those current circumstances, the death of another child won’t do any good, it won’t liberate us. The thing that will liberate us is education and arts and that is why we created this center in 1998 to resist, through it, with the weapons of arts and education,” Dr. Abdel Fattah added.
The children’s life-long residence, the Aida Refugee Camp houses some 4,000 people from 35 villages, 40% of whom are children under the age of 15 years. In tightly crowded facilities where there is insufficient housing, no clinic, 70% unemployment, and no place for children to play, Al-Rowwad Center acts not only as a theatrical training center, but also as a refuge for the spirit. Sprung from a youth center that was housed at the beginning of the first Intifada in a very vulnerable location, Al-Rowwad Center opened in April of 1998 at a safer location in a two-room home in the center of the camp.
The theatre group is only one part of Al-Rowwad’s mission. The children are encouraged to explore many kinds of cultural and expressive activities. The center sponsors art and craft workshops in collaboration with local artists, English language courses, animation workshops, computer training, a public library, and also hosts a number of outings.
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| Aida Camp |
The main objective of Al-Rowwad Center is to “develop a cultural and theatre training center in the camp and equip it with all the equipment and instruments needed for it to function independently, so that it would not continuously depend on donations. This will permit the center to help the children to overcome and manage the recent stress and violence imposed on them and encourages self-expression through peaceful means (drama and art) in a secure and healthy environment, where they could also use the library and computers. The long-term objective is to establish a complete and permanent cultural and theatre training center in the camp.”
Ultimately Al-Rowwad is a place for life to flourish and for children to be trained in artistic modes of expression to help them to deal constructively and healthily with their unfortunate reality. Ultimately, the outputs of the program hope to allow these children grow up to be emotionally healthy individuals despite their circumstances.
Dr. Abdel Fattah has high aspirations for the future of Al-Rowwad, which are clearly outlined in Al-Rowwad’s official web page. He hopes Al-Rowwad will construct its own four-floor building which will house — along with the library and computer center — a kindergarten, a health clinic, and a multi-purpose hall that can be used for workshops and performances.
Al-Rowwad still has a long way to go until it meets its material goal. In spirit, however, Al-Rowwad is flourishing.
“It is easy to go toward ugliness, but it is not easy to go toward beauty and education,” Dr. Abdel Fattah Abu Srour.
For more information about the Al-Rowwad center
contact: Bethlehem P.O. Box 989- Palestine
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