Water, Sanitation, People

23 Jul

I noticed something about the photos being taken by the kids. When we go out into the refugee camp, the girls would consistently take photos of garbage and the boys would take photos of graffiti or cars. There was little variation. I began introducing photography lessons, and their work became more focused and creative.

Once they had learned these basics of photography, I hoped that anything they captured would be more purposeful. I wasn’t disappointed. Instead of snapping a quick photo of a marked-up wall, they would consider why they were taking that photo and how to take it for the best results.

I asked the girls, through broken Arabic and some translation from the English-speaking kids, to focus on recurring elements in their photography: sanitation, water, and the people in Kalandia refugee camp. They were thrilled. Finally, they could apply their lessons and capture what they really wanted.

The day was slow at first. It was hot. The girls were gossiping and giggling and had the cameras at their side. Some of the girls were confused- what water do we take photos of? I gathered the girls around me and began to take photos of a puddle.

Water is precious  in Kalandia, it all comes from water tanks perched atop the cement houses and is only delivered monthly, bottled water was sold everywhere but it was rarely bought because even three shekels (about one dollar CND) is an unnecessary expense. There is no formal garbage system (UNRWA funds for garbage trucks to come by but it’s infrequent), and there is no environment to care for in a cracked cement land.

They were contemplative for the rest of the day’s assignment. They drifted apart from one another to take individual shots of something interesting. And they all stayed on-topic. When they came back to the centre and reviewed their work, they were so proud. Looking at their photographs, I am proud of them.

 

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Back to work

19 Jul

I’m excited to look through the photos. Taking out the card reader, the SD cards. Pulling the cameras out of the green canvas bag. It’s like a treat after a hard day. Because when I look at the photos, it’s all worth it. The repetition of lessons, the drills, the exercises, the hours spent brainstorming ideas that will make the kids excited by photography. It’s difficult for them, I know. They have a teacher who speaks minimal Arabic and the equipment often malfunctions. They need validation. They  need coaxing. They need time. And effort. And energy. Not just to listen to the lessons, but to apply what they learned with their eyes, and ears, and the click of a button through a viewfinder. It’s hard at first. They learn about angles, colour, shape, detail, action. These are all aspects of photography I have covered with them so far. And the usefulness of creative photography is minimal for them at the moment. They have seen their work on the computer and in the camera’s memory, but they have yet to see their work mounted and viewed by others. And to hear the reaction of others. They have yet to feel that emotional connection to their work that comes with planning a photo, applying all skills to a single frame. That frame which will capture how they feel, who they are, and what they want to convey.

But the youth are getting closer to that magical photo. I can see it in the photos they take and the painstaking energy they put into taking a single shot. Where there was once giggling and joking around, there is now focus and motivation. It’s hot outside, with the sun beating down, and they stand in the heat to take a photo of a tiny white egg, laying hidden amongst dry grass. They have gone from snapping quick shots of graffiti and the separation wall to action shots of children and interesting architecture angles. They are absorbed with colour and shape. There is nothing wrong with taking photos of graffiti. In fact, it’s something they want the world to see. “This is what we think. This is our life.” The photos and descriptions were pent up anger and craving for freedom.

One of my goals in the program is to push beyond those emotions. They will be there as long as the occupation is here, but photography is their window outside of that. Media will give them a chance to be creative, feel  empowered, feel free. Even if it’s only for that brief time when they take a photo and view their work hanging in the centre every day. It’s a memory of that time in their life. And it underscores the fact that they aren’t alone. Some of the program’s goals are to help these youth express themselves and think critically. We’re getting there and I can see it now, shway shway.

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Updates

10 Jul

Absence

This past week has been a hard time for me. I have been in two hospitals (one in the West Bank and the other in Israel), both taken in for severe dehydration. The cause: gastroenteritis, or the stomach flu. It sounds harmless, and for the rest of my friends who came down with it this past week it was. It was supposed to last 3 days max, and yet-a week and a half in- I am still unable to eat properly and feel dizzy and lethargic most of the time.

The worst side effect is that I have been unable to work with the kids on the media program. Not only was I physically unable to, but the stomach flu is highly contagious. The last thing I need is to pass my experience this week on to the kids. I will most likely push back my return date to make up for the time lost.

What’s Next

I plan on returning to work at the centre on Monday for a half day. I’ll spend some time in the computer lab with the kids, showing them photographers who inspire me, and exploring photography that they are drawn to. Although I have done something similar during the last session, there are new additions to the Kalandia Youth Media group, and I want to ensure everyone’s involvement.

I am working with another volunteer for the time being, a youth himself. The following month is crucial to completing as much of the program as possible, since Ramadan will start on August 10th. Ramadan is the Muslim month of fasting. This means that from sun-up to sun-down, the kids at the centre will be hungry. It’s a challenging time here, since the long days, the searing heat, and hunger puts everyone on edge. The kids will be less focused and more difficult to control, so the program will most likely need to be cut down to half-days (10am-1pm, for example).

Expect more program updates soon!

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Day II

27 Jun

The second day of the program was a success. I bought replacement SD cards for the cameras so we had seven cameras to use for 14 youth. I supervised them while they shot around Mukhayim Kalandia (Kalandia camp). They were shy at first, the girls walking in a single line, arms linked and giggling. The boys sauntered ahead smirking and smacking each other periodically. I hung back with the girls, talking in broken Arabic about the weather (too hot), my clothing (too thick), and prompting them to take photos. We walked along the main road like this for a few minutes under the beating sun.

When we neared the mosque, I pointed out the mosque for the day’s exercise. “I’m taking a photo of the minaret,” I began, “because I think it’s a beautiful piece of architecture, it’s a gathering place for the community, and every time I see this one in particular, I know that I am back in Kalandia- it’s like a guiding light.” Heads nodded and 14 pairs of eyes focused on me as I snapped a few photos from various angles.

Past the mosque, the streets narrowed, cut into side paths, and became overshadowed by the cement walls of the over hanging homes. The kids began to take photos. We visited the cemetery, viewed the encroaching Jewish settlement, and looped back after passing the small convenience store.

Challenges

The kids are engaged and attentive. They are adaptable and consistently craving opportunities to learn. I am so lucky to have such a dynamic group. They are also like a community- they communicate effectively and work well as a team. But only with their own gender. The boys stay with the boys, the girls stay with the girls.

The down-sides are obvious: it’s difficult to create a cohesive final project when the division in the program’s participants is hindering learning and  creativity.

Another challenge is finding the right balance between controlling the kids and letting freedom and creativity reign. Two of the boys love taking photos so much that they rarely give their camera partner a chance to shoot. Other kids are competitive, shoving others out of the way to get the perfect angle. Others have a tendency to run off into the distance to get unique shots of crumbling buildings and curious children in the camp. This makes it difficult to say no, khalas. You can sense the drive in these youth, but you also need to know where to draw the thick red line. I take cues from the youth centre staff when it comes to these matters.

The kids here are the same as anywhere else in the world: bright, creative, disarming with their smiles and open eyes…but they are also much different, especially from youth in the West. These kids are refugees and have grown up with little security, constant violence from  military incursions, and little opportunity to learn and grow. Their playing places are limited: there are no parks in Kalandia. There are no playgrounds here. There is only one youth centre with little staff and not enough supplies. There is little greenery- space is limited and is used for building homes for the expanding population.

Daily, I can’t help but think about their situation and marvel at their resilience. They confront the problems in the camp head-on: the trash, the low sanitation, the lack of water, the absence of opportunity,  the grey desolate nature of a refugee camp.

As we walked around on this second day, one of the girls, Wesam, hung back. Her arms were crossed and her head hung low. I put my hand on her shoulder, asking what was up. “I have never been to this part of the refugee camp before,” she said, “I have never actually looked at all of this trash. We live in trash.” She looked into my eyes briefly before turning her head forward again. We began to slowly walk towards the rest of the boisterous group together.

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Program- Day One

24 Jun

Yesterday was the first official day for the Kalandia Youth Media program. What. A. Day.

The Initial Setbacks

The first day was marred by a major setback when I discovered that Israeli airport security had taken my SD cards. When I had landed in Tel Aviv a few weeks ago and found my luggage riffled through and my zipper broken, I didn’t blink an eye. Security checks are the norm here. But the SD cards, which were inside the just-bought cameras, were brand new and thus empty of any photos- so why take them? I will never know.

What I do know is that next time, I will mail all equipment instead of bringing it in my luggage.

Day One

We had estimated that around 15 kids would show up; we got exactly that number. Five boys and 10 girls came into the computer lab in the afternoon to begin the day. The ages of the youth range from 12-14. I took individual photos of the participants, as well as some group photos. I wanted the kids to see themselves on-line immediately, to see that their participation is important and recognized.

We began by doing a simple exercise to get the kids’ creative juices flowing and get them acquainted with the equipment. We divided the youth into four groups: two groups for the girls and two for the boys. They had one camera amongst themselves in each group, and their assignment was simple: take 5-10 photos each and return back to the centre within the hour.

When they came back to the lab, each group created a folder on a computer to keep all of their work. They were instructed to enter a one-line photo description. Then came the interesting part.

I asked the kids to choose three of the best photos from their own group. The mood was instantly serious and contemplative. Which photos to choose- there could be only three! Once they chose the photos, they were asked to discuss what they thought when looking at the image. Then they were asked why they chose that particular photo. They wrote all of this down. The exercise seems simple, but for the first day, it was more than enough. The kids took two hours to shoot and two hours to work on the exercise.

Adjusting

There are a few obstacles I need to overcome…

Time: The West Bank is special. There is a magic about it which makes time run slower in people’s minds than in reality. “I’ll meet you at 12pm,” I told the kids. What they heard was “I’ll meet you at 12pm…West Bank time.” The entire group was finally at the designated meeting time at 1pm. My plan is to agree on a meeting time an hour ahead of the actual start time. If it works for me at home, it should work here with these rambunctious youth.

Gender rules: The girls and boys at the centre tend to stick with their own gender. The girls cluster together giggling while the boys act as tough as possible. It’s endearing. They’re kids at that pivotal age where boys may no longer have cooties and it may not be that bad to talk to girls. I am navigating this, while keeping in mind the cultural aspect, as well. Kalandia camp is more conservative than, for example, the central West Bank city of Ramallah. As much as I want the kids to have maximum interaction amongst themselves, it would be impossible to get them working in mixed-gender groups right now.


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Dabkeh!

17 Jun

Yesterday, I wrote about the girls here who practice Dabkeh daily for an upcoming performance in Italy. A few of them were at the centre this morning and attacked me when they saw I had a camera: “Take picture? Take video?” My Nikon DSLR is an ice breaker.

Arabic words relearned today: photo- soora, beautiful-helwe, red-ahmar, brother- akhoy

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Back in the West Bank

16 Jun

I arrived in the West Bank on a Friday, a holiday for Muslims. Kalandia camp was deserted, all the green and blue-painted shop doors shuttered. I had two pieces of luggage with me, one for my own belongings and one full of cameras, tripods, and other supplies for the media arts program. I have never felt as conspicuous as that day, rolling those two bright suitcases around in the middle of the day in a deathly quiet refugee camp.

Now that I’m settled in here and I’ve recovered from jet lag, I thought I could begin the media arts program. But the program requires youth and right now, all of the kids aged 10 and up are writing their school-end exams. I come to the centre each day and there are a handful of children, aged 5-8, who play games on the computers and practice dancing.

All exams will be finished by next week. For now, I am speaking with the president of the centre and one of the coordinators to create a working plan for making my program sustainable. Crafting a mission statement, creating a teaching plan, landing volunteers, and fundraising  were easy tasks compared to making this program last. Many questions need to be asked: When I leave in late August for Toronto, what will happen to this program? How do I get this program to carry on once I leave? How do I get more volunteers involved when there are off-putting, extreme travel warnings for the region? How do I create the foundation for an exciting program where the kids anticipate using media daily?

I have faith in the youth Centre staff. They have been supportive of my idea from the beginning, offering their time and encouragement. The co-ordinator here has kept me going with his own ideas about possible sources for continued funding. We have spoken about the possibility of expanding the program to other refugee camps, as well, connecting the youth to produce a dynamic summer-end project, such as a short documentary or a series of photographs revolving around a theme.

A lesson I’ve learned from my “Intro to Non-Profit Organizations” class and from my experience here so far: working for tangible change requires numerous meetings and a lot of planning. There is no such thing as “just doing it”. When there are so many people and organizations involved- local as well as international- every step of an initiative should be fully understood by all parties involved. And, especially since I will be working with hundreds of youth, everyone needs to be on board.

As I mentioned, there aren’t many kids at the youth centre for now. The kids who are here will be travelling to Italy in July to participate in a cultural exchange. The youth centre facilitates this trip every year, in collaboration with an Italian NGO, Vento di Terra. Every day that I’m here, they practice singing folk songs and dancing Dabkeh (a traditional Palestinian dance).

As I write, four girls are in the main room, stomping their feet and sweeping the floor with their heels, in the midst of an energetic Dabkeh dance. In about 15 minutes, they’ll be back in this computer lab at my side, practicing their English on me and laughing at my accented Arabic replies. They ask for my name, question me about my family, and beseech me to dance with them, smiling all the while. We talk about their lives in Arab-lish (Arabic English?) and share jokes while I drink strong Turkish coffee.

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