☀️ Day 4️⃣: Birzeit

Yesterday started off like most days this week, campers checked in with their counselors and then did some reflections. Shortly after, we collectively decided how we will be splitting into 2 buses🚌 and quickly got on the buses for the quick 15-minute drive to Birzeit University (BZU). At BZU, we met with the Right to Education Campaign (R2E) organizers, a movement that was founded at BZU in 1988 to provide legal assistance to students and teachers who were arrested for carrying books and attending classes in homes and community centers when all Palestinian universities were closed by Israeli military order. Since then, the Campaign has sought to expose the systematic obstruction of Palestinian higher education by both Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Campers asked a lot of interesting questions and it got a little emotional for some. It was a powerful session where many recognized their privilege yet at the same time this privilege bares on us the responsibility to speak out against the unjust oppression Palestinians live under . After we concluded our tour of BZU, we walked quickly to the Palestinian Museum🏛️ to see their exhibit “People by the Sea: Narratives from the Palestinian Coast”🌊. Starting from the mid-18th century and ending in 1948, the exhibition allows for a re-examination of the Nakba through a presentation of two hundred years of historical landmarks. Seeing that we will be going to Akka, Haifa, and Jaffa soon, we hope this exhibit was able to shed some light about the history of these Palestinian cities and their economic importance and roles in forming the modern Palestinian identity and national conscience. Campers particularly enjoyed an art piece made of broken Armenian tiles from destroyed Palestinian homes during the Nakba. These tiles were washed ashore and collected by the artist. Many campers who have roots in Jaffa considered how some of these tile pieces could well be from the floors grandparents’ homes. Following the tour of the exhibition, campers got a light lunch of grilled chicken sandwiches🍔 and free time to roam the museum exhibits and gardens. We then returned to campus where campers got into their film groups and wrote out their film’s longline🎬. We ended the first portion of the camp with a discussion about topics campers wanted to learn about and why the Zionist movement chose Palestine as its colonial project. From there, it was a quick transition to a 2-hour break, returning to campus for a FilmLab workshop with Palestinian director Leila Abbasi🎥. The campers presented their film ideas to Leila and the rest of the camp and got their ideas “peer reviewed”. They are so creative and we can’t wait to see how the films they will produce will reflect what they learn over the coming 2 weeks.