There is no escape!
How would you convince a child who saw her twin's head smashed under the rubble of their house, and no one is able to remove what is last of their body parts, so that they could be reunited with the stones of the house itself?
How? With a piece of colorful candy?
There's no escape from life but with life.. not with death!
Bibliography
Fox, N. H. (2017). Reading as collective action: Texts as Tactics. University of Iowa Press.
Harvey, D. (2019). The right to the city. In Harvey, D. Rebel cities: From the right to the city to the Urban Revolution (pp. 3–25). London, New York: Verso.
Researching al-Arabi Magazine Archive. Darat al Funun. (n.d.). https://daratalfunun.org/?event=researching-al-arabi-magazine-archive
The texts that were used in the project are taken from Arab literature by focusing on the struggles of Palestinians and what has happened over the past years in Palestine. A series of famous Palestinian cities, Haifa, Gaza and Akka that were lost due to the forceful eviction of their inhabitants in 1948 shows an empowering story of a life of struggles and longing for return.
The stories reflect on the concepts of home and belonging by highlighting on the Palestinians suffering and struggles for years in order to gain their simplest rights in their own cities and the right to return is highlighted by the experiences of the characters and can be related to not only Palestinians or Arabs, but also to anyone who has lived through a similar situation. For this reason, three novels that were used in the project are written by the famous Palestinian revolutionary and novelist Ghassan Kanafani.
So we will not die unknown!
Is it immortality what matters?
No, what is important is that your loved ones knows about your death or your life, so that they do not die from waiting!
Reclaims places, and goes to a distant city and stands infront of that door and waits!
The concept of reading as a collective action is the main idea that this research based the theoretical and critical framework on. It started with the aim of creating a space for participants to discuss important topics through the texts that are used to better understand what people feel when listening or reading a text and how discussing these topics will allow a greater amount of reflection.The research focused on Arabic literature and highlighted on two concepts which are “Home and Belonging”. A diversity of components were added to the sessions. Such components include reading collectively, using mindfulness exercises, discussions, and reflections through other art forms.The aim here is to show that individuals can construct an understanding of home and belonging through social engagement and in turn construct meaning to that understanding based upon surroundings and the provided texts.For this project, participants were asked in each session to read the texts collectively, go through discussion and express their thoughts through the art forms of writing and drawing. Being mindful throughout the process allowed for a deeper discussion and a transfer of all feelings into paper afterwards.By time it was easier to relate and connect all the artistic means that are used during the sessions to public space and the research ended up with experimenting alot of ideas for a collective reading sessions.
public discourse in the project is strong and shows that space and society can’t be separated. It shows the power of having a space of freedom for expression and the power of speech when it becomes collectively taken.
Pascal Gielen in his text Performing the Common City spoke about bringing commons- in the city. The idea that “the city” belongs to everyone allows the artists to navigate a very fluid domain of movement and change over time, and this is what is being done through this research by using texts as tactics to speak and to put our mark to revive the common life in the city.
Dear Reader,
In the face of the weakness of the Arabs, the Israelis can do whatever they want with them.
And in the face of the Palestinians' aggression, the world can only surrender.
Using the personal collection of Al-Arabi magazine belonging to my grandfather, Saeed Al-Nasser, the research particularly examines editions that covered significant political and economic setbacks in the Arab world, particularly the years 1967 (The Setback) and 1973 (The October War). Over three months, I worked on a research-based workshop involving writers, researchers, and people interested in literature. Together, we explored the magazine’s publications from 1967 till 1973 and selected texts for a series of collective reading sessions to be further discussed in depth. The selected texts are reflections on the meanings of home and belonging and their ties with our daily lived experiences and history. Through this selection, special emphasis is placed on the years that forged our understanding of a collective Arab identity, and its politics. Choosing these particular issues of Al-Arabi magazine was crucial to this research, because they included materials that were fundamentally related to the developing understanding of collective Arab identity and its transformation across time to the present. For example, an essential aspect of the workshop was to trace the inception and development of the term “setback” and how participants perceived it in the year 2023”. Additionally, the workshop investigated how the Arab cultural discourse addressed the issues of that era and compared it to the present-day situation.
The workshop featured the insightful participation of Aisha Abu Ghazi, Bashar Al-Idrissi, Dima Al-Masry, Doha Abu Yahya, Jinan Silwadi, Mona Mufti, Safaa Abu Eid, Thaer Matar, Zeina Bassam, and Zainab Ishaqat.
This research which started in 2021 as a part of Master Performing Public Space, revolves around collective reading practices and social engagement in the public sphere, enabling individuals to react to texts through discussions, writing, and drawing. The idea was to highlight the concepts of home and belonging and to give people the ability to connect to societal and political rights within local communities. Using texts as tactics is a bridge to discussing politics in the city and having the right to change ourselves as citizens. In turn, that change also have an effect on reshaping the cities we live in. In order for change to occur, though, it is vital to have the freedom to discuss our views on politics, our hopes, and fears. By engaging people in the city to join a collective reading session and using political texts during the session, we start to build this bridge without being so blatant about the intention to discuss political issues in the city. The texts used in this project highlight the concepts of home and belonging, and are applied as a tactic to discuss and share personal stories related to these concepts. So, the use of texts is a way to stimulate participation and the sharing of personal stories with strangers, which can be challenging in everyday encounters. According to David Harvey “The right to the city is far more than the individual liberty to access urban resources: it is a right to change ourselves by changing the city. It is, moreover, a common rather than an individual right since this transformation inevitably depends upon the exercise of a collective power to reshape the processes of urbanization. The freedom to make and remake our cities and ourselves” (Harvey, 2019, p.1).
The research originally applied Arabic literary texts but here the approach shifted towards exploring archival texts that were published in Al-Arabi magazine since its first publication in 1958. It formed part of Darat al Funun’s Lab open call program, which included a workshop for invited researchers, three collective reading sessions and an open studio event, where the findings of the workshop and reading sessions were shared with the public. This encompassed reflections, research and reading materials, and a selection of the magazine's physical archive, focusing on the years explored during the workshop.
The final showcase- open studio was held inside a small space with four white walls where all aspects of the collective reading sessions were experienced. Each wall had instructions for different tasks to perform, similar to the tasks followed during the collective reading sessions. One wall featured the magazine’s paper archive, an exciting display for visitors to explore its historical contents. Another wall had a big scroll paper of the texts selected from the group reading sessions, providing a platform for visitors to read or listen to these chosen pieces. The showcase also included a collage of selected clippings from the magazine and the reflections of participants from the reading sessions. In addition, attendees were encouraged to share their thoughts by leaving messages in a central mailbox using provided papers and envelopes. Before leaving the space, visitors could also take with them a small booklet edition. This booklet comprised excerpts from Al-Arabi magazine editorials spanning the years 1967 to 1973, titled “Dear Reader.”
Collective reading encounters are the main artistic means for highlighting the concepts of home and belonging from a nonwestern perspective within this research. During reading sessions post-workshop, the workshop participants became the facilitators, engaging in the entire process from conceptualizing the session idea to selecting the relevant texts. These collective reading sessions highlighted that people can develop their understanding of home and belonging by reading a text collectively and reflecting on it through discussion, drwawing or writing. By taking these texts to the public, participants were given the chance to reflect upon and discuss very sensitive topics. Additionally, by discussing notions of home and belonging, a link was created between the archival texts in the magazine and people’s own stories and life experiences, which in turn offered participants the freedom to speak and let their voice be heard by others.
The social space in this case is based on the act of reading which is performed collectively as opposed to individually. Mindfulness exercises were introduced at the beginning of each session - particularly a “Sound observations” exercise. For this exercise, participants were invited to listen to the sounds around them while sitting, standing, or walking after which they would describe to others what they heard. These exercises served to focus and tune participants’ attention to the space and people around them in preparation for the collective reading sessions.
The first session focused on the development of cities and its impact on our sense of belonging. It raised questions about the factors that contribute towards our connection to a specific place or city, considering the opportunities provided by the cities and their role in shaping our sense of belonging. The session also explored how the development of a city influences our emotional connection to it and at what potential costs. In this session, the facilitators enriched the discussion by sharing a text from the article “Aswan” by Munir Nassif, published in the 106th issue of the magazine in September 1967. This text provided insights into Aswan City during the construction of the high dam.
The second session was about migration, leaving, and belonging. The discussion raised questions about the definition of migration and explored the nature of belonging to a place when leaving it forcibly. The session included two texts for discussion. The first, authored by Abdelhalim Muntaser, was an article on migration published in the 104th issue of the magazine in July 1967. This article provided insights into the definition of migration in general. The second text, a poll written by Salim Zabbal in the 122nd issue of the magazine in January 1969, addressed Palestinian revolutionaries post-setback.
The third and last session titled “Dear Reader: A Conversation between the Past and the Present,” focused on the editorial known as “Dear reader”- an essential part of each issue of the magazine, One of them was about the extensive censorship imposed on publishing after the setback.
The session also discussed a text about propaganda, and the discussion revolved around the differences between propaganda at that time and today.
The cover of the magazine for the July 1967 issue, which is the first issue after (the setback) and the only cover issue in black and white, to express the sadness prevailing at that time in the Arab world at the displacement of the Palestinians once again from their land.
Poll transcript
Twenty years have passed while they have been searching for the right path that will guide them back home.
Twenty years have been spent with the assumption that they have been on the correct path, yet they came to the realization that for this whole time, they had been walking on the wrong path. The reality was that they were constantly moving in the opposite direction, further away from their homes.
Throughout those twenty years, hardships were felt as they experienced torment, oppression, and persecution in addition to their initial displacement and dispersal.
Their catastrophe began when they were expelled from their homes in 1948 to live in tents erected for them on the outskirts of the cities of Jericho, Nablus, Tulkarm, and others.
Then again, a second time, another catastrophic setback in their lives leading to their forced migration along with their tents toward the Jordan Valley on the eastern bank of the Holy River. The enemy did not care about their condition as it continuously barraged them with missiles and bombs. So, their unwanted journey away continued along an unsafe route that the enemy controlled ever since 1965. Despite the dangers, they adopted to these hardship and grasped onto whatever they had remaining, and this is how the Palestinian people came to be known. A strong group of people who had to remain standing despite the negative life around them.
For What Reasons, my God,
Hands were raised from under the tents as people chanted and pleaded to their creator, questioning why? For what reasons have we been expelled from our land, while others enjoy its abundance. Yet, it was as if God had answered the prayers of the homeless orphans and the oppressed by giving them the ability to form a resistance against the occupying forces that had displaced them from their homes and lands. The Palestinian people rallied around this idea and most embraced it as it began to expand in 1965 under the thought that the fingernail cannot ultimately come out of its skin, and neither can they accept the idea of being dislocated from their homes.
The path toward their redemption was a long and winding one filled with obstacles that seemed like forks in the road. In spite of this, the Palestinians did not hesitate to walk upon it, as the sacrifices they were to make were well worth it as the ultimate goal was the goal of return. Their ambition was admirable, but with it came the list of martyrs who were idolized as those who would purify the lands and allow for the return of their people through the greatest sacrifice, the risk of their lives.
A photo from the magazine, July 1967 issue, which represent Camps that were hastily established in the city of Zarqa in Jordan to shelter those displaced from the West Bank by force and aggression.
In all three sessions, a space of social engagement was created, where participants delved into the link between the past and present in shaping the political Arab identity and fostering a sense of belonging. In “Reading as collective action” Fox stated that “texts as tactics develop the political skills advocated for by the political engagement project. It leads to increased and increasingly effective public engagement because it foregrounds analysis of the subject matter to build more authentic understandings”. (Fox, 2017, P.82).
In December 1958, Dr. Ahmad Zaki, the first editor-in-chief of Al-Arabi magazine wrote in the opening statement of its first issue: “Al-Arabi is dedicated to Arab thought, in every possible meaning of the word. It stands against sickness and stands with the promotion of a healthy mind. It stands against ignorance, and stands with the promotion of knowledge across the whole Arab state”. Seeking to promote an ideology of pan-Arabism, Al-Arabi magazine’s journey over the last sixty-four years focused on covering literature, art, politics, society, and economics of the Arab world. The magazine was named “Al-Arabi” as a reflection of the Arab nationalist trend at that time. This was evident in the folding of its pages, which carried the slogan “Written by Arabs for all Arabs to read.” In light of the increasing number of archiving projects both regionally and globally that aim to enhance collective memory, it becomes crucial to shed light on Al-Arabi magazine archival products.
Dear reader,
We decided to stop commenting on Arab matters for a while, due to the many existing censorships.
Even without this censorship, it is difficult or even impossible for the writer to write, and the atmosphere is not conducive to free and frank expression. And we see that Arab problems are deeper than it might appear.
We ask God for help and guidance for the Arabs and for His other servants whom His wisdom willed for them to settle in a place on this earth
