Palestinian children capture their camp life on film

Beirut- Hundreds of Palestinian children living in camps across Lebanon might get the chance to become photographers and capture their ordeals and miserable living conditions on film. Zakira, a local Lebanese cultural association which groups professional photographers, has launched a project called 'glimpse.' The aim of the project is to distribute 500 cameras among Palestinian children and encourage them to portray life in the camps as seen through their eyes. 'Children's lives in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are especially harsh, cruel and crowded. To say the least, their living conditions are unhealthy, both physically and psychologically,' said photojournalist Ramzi Haidar, who is a founding member of the association. 'Those children live in rooms which have been added to existing buildings, mostly within the narrow alleyways between them, often blocking the sun. Raw sewage and filthy water in camp streets is a common sight. Palestinian children have to learn to adjust in this environment, for this place has become their home,' said Haidar. Haidar and other members of the association believe that the cameras will become a powerful tool in the hands of the Palestinian children to reflect their miserable conditions to the world. There are some 367,000 Palestinian refugees living in 12 camps across Lebanon. All of them are denied social rights, and they are only allowed to do cheap manual labour regardless of their education or skills. 'For people like me... I think this injustice has reflected on the Palestinian children, and through the cameras they will be able to express their fears and anger...,' Haidar said. 'After giving the children cameras, we will start giving them basic training and guidance. We will then ensure appropriate exposure for the children's work through organizing a number of exhibitions,' Elsee Hadad, another member of the group, said. Hadad stressed that children between the ages of seven and 12 would be the main beneficiaries of this project. 'This age group has been chosen on the assumption that at this age, children will be able to understand what's been asked of them, and able to stay on track. At the same time, their innocence, spontaneity and truthfulness would remain uncompromised: A child would only be subject to its own feelings,' Hadad added. The organizers believe that after six months the children will be able to learn how to use and understand cameras as a communication tool. According to Zakira, the children were selected for their creativity. Members of the association tested them by giving them a piece of paper and asking them to draw anything they wanted. A committee of five then chose five hundred drawings to decide to whom the disposable cameras would be given. 'The children will be asked to photograph the world around them, documenting their daily lives in the camps,' Haidar said. At the end of the six months, the children's work would then be filtered down to around one hundred images to be exhibited across the Middle East, Europe and North America. These images would then be published in a book. Proceeds from the book and the exhibitions would go directly to the Palestinian children through the creation of a cultural project for these kids. Haidar hopes that many young talents will be discovered through this project. © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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SandlionMar 16th, 2007 - 00:31:42

It's all well and good, I just wonder why the Saudis, Emiratis etc don't adopt more of the Palestinians into their countries...I know why..it's because they all hate each other and it's just more convenient to point the finger at the west. Seriously, there is so much corrupted wealth in those countries yet they don't raise a finger to help their supposed 'muslim' brothers.

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Anne Selden AnnabMar 16th, 2007 - 13:11:07

I am delighted and relieved to see that we might get a more realistic glimpse at the people of Palestine via a look through he children's eyes in refugee camps.

In exploring Palestine, far too much ink has been spilled on violence in the Middle East, with the most interesting and endearing people pushed aside as our media clamors for the most shocking and violent story to tell. We dismiss good and gentle people everywhere and miss the point....

With all the talk of politics and terror it is easy to forget that Palestine is simply its children, wherever they have been scattered, imprisoned or not in impoverished refugee camps.

I have huge hope for the children of Palestine and their ability to educate themselves and all the world about the very real plight of the Palestinians. A picture is worth a thousand words ... I very much look forward to buying a copy of the book when it is finished.

May Palestine and all the refugees return as soon as possible, before even more damage is done to the many innocent men, women and children who simply want to go home to hope and a decent world where our past, present and future, including all our children are ALL valued and nurtured in positive ways as an important part of a true community.

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BeelzebubMar 16th, 2007 - 19:00:20

I'm sure that footage has plenty of clips with- Hey! There's one now. Ferox, put your pants back on and get away from those kids. That's not even legal in Palestine!

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