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Beating lockdown, Palestinian group launches virtual project to preserve history and record daily lives of people
Amid lockdown and threat of coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic, a Palestinian activist group has launched a virtual project, to preserve the history of the land and record daily lives in villages and countryside.
Since last month, when the medical emergency was imposed in the West Bank to stem the transmission of COVID-19, the group called Travel Wandering that used to roam around villages and record human lives and history, stopped its activities.
Instead, the group has now launched a virtual project, using social media platforms to remain in touch with people. Members write stories, upload videos and photos from their regions and become part of an initiative to preserve the history of Palestine.
The group had launched a project to preserve the oral history of the region, by visiting villages, recording experiences of people, who were witness to historical events, besides writing about their human lives.
“Due to lockdown, it was not possible to visit places. So, we turned to social media. Our friends in villages and towns are sending us videos, photos, and texts that provide information about these places. We post this content in our social media platforms”, Hussien Shejaeya, coordinator of the group told Anadolu Agency.
Many expatriate Palestinians follow these platforms to remain in touch with their motherland, to know about daily lives, history and historical events that have happened in these villages and towns,” he said.
Shejaeya, 33, from DerJrir township near Ramallah conceived the project eight years ago to record the history and lives of people in the Palestinian countryside.
"Every member of the group can be a guest, as well as a host. I started this voluntary activity with my friends from my hometown,” he said.
Samer Sharif, 30, an activist from Jerusalem, another founder of this voluntary initiative said that they aimed to reinforce the loyalty and affection to their land.
"We started the group with 20 people with a passion to learn and show affection to the land. We wandered in the villages of Palestine to learn about their social and political history and record daily lives in these villages to preserve the Palestinian narrative about the land,” said Sharif.
-West Bank divided into three areas
The initiative used to organize weekly walks in the Palestinian countryside, classified as C Area. The Interim Agreement known as Oslo II signed in 1995 has divided West Bank into three administrative divisions. Area A is exclusively administered by the Palestinian National Authority. While Area B is administered by both the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the Area C, which also houses the Israeli settlements, is administered by Israel.
Around 100 people every Friday visit a village, listen and know the oral stories about Palestine from their inhabitants firsthand.
In 2019, the group planted 100 trees in areas of Joriesh near Nablus, Senjel near Ramallah and Farkhah near Salfit. They also helped to build mud houses in Jordan Valley and revived many ancient Romanian water ponds during their rounds.
The group said that attention to these areas not only encourages inhabitants but also preserves their Palestinian identity.
“Israel confiscates uninhabited lands, and this is what we are trying to prevent by volunteering to serve these lands,” said Sharif.
In September 2019, the group was wandering in Rafat village in the northwest of Jerusalem city. One of the villages situated on the hill overlooks Ofer prison, where Hassan Karajah, one of the founders of the initiative, is detained.
On top of that hill, the hikers sang patriotic songs to let their voices reach across the prison walls.
The group members said that they have helped to highlight and preserve the values of the Palestinian community with a spirit of cooperation. It also gives a sense of actual Palestinian society, their daily lives and also keeps expatriates linked to their motherland.
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