By Yousef Munayyer
In Yarmouk refugee camp, the largest concentration of Palestinians in Syria among the nine refugee camps there, the Palestinian population is trapped and suffering. The camp sits just south of Damascus and its strategic location has made it part of the battlefield, leaving refugees who would rather take a neutral stance for their own safety caught in the middle.
David Sheen reports on the striking parallels between Israel’s current attempts to deport all African refugees and its historic attempts to marginalize non-Jewish populations in the state including Palestinians.
Nidal Bitari, a former resident of Yarmouk, and Christopher McGrath of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation in Yarmouk Camp, home of the largest Palestinian population in Syria, due to the current siege on the camp.
Mohammad Al-Azza, who teaches youth about photography and documentary production in the Lajee Center will discuss the challenges journalists face in the midst of demonstrations and clashes. He will present photographs from three different exhibits he produced in Aida Camp, one of which is his arrest and facial injury.
Susan Abulhawa, author of Mornings in Jenin, reads from her newly published book of poems, which represents five years of poems on the themes of love, loss, identity, and family, brought to life through vivid observations and intimate personal reflections.
Artist John Halaka discusses his multi-disciplinary project, Portraits of Denial & Desire, that preserves and presents the stories of indigenous Palestinians who were displaced from their homeland in an ongoing cultural genocide that began 65 years ago.
In this panel discussion, Dr. Faedah Totah and Ms. Helena Cobban explore the impact of the war in Syria on Palestinian refugees, who have had a presence in the country since 1948.
A stimulating interview with Palestinian-American film director, Annemarie Jacir, who just screened her latest work “Lamma Shoftak” (When I Saw You) at the DC International Film festival.
The Dupes, by Tawfik Saleh, 1972, 107 mins: The story is based on the 1962 novella Men in the Sun by Palestinian writer, artist, and resistance leader Ghassan Kanafani, who was assassinated at age 36 with his young niece in a car bombing in Beirut in 1972.
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