Something to live for

The Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank town of Jenin was created in 1953 when thousands of Palestinians fled their homes in Haifa and the Carmel mountain area. Today, the refugee camp is spoken of widely, especially within humanitarian circles, because of the massacre that took place there in April 2002 when the Israeli military entered the camp, completely flattening buildings and leaving 435 families homeless.  If you are interested in learning more about the camp and the massacre I highly recommend the documentary Jenin, Jenin.

Since April 2002 you will find several counter narratives to the Massacre of Jenin but nothing can mask the actual atrocities that took place in that camp at the hands of the Israeli military: Jenin Massacre Evidence Growing.

Today the camp has been reconstructed, and on July 16th I visited the Freedom Theatre which is located within the camp. The Freedom Theatre is "the only professional venue for theatre and multimedia in the north of the West Bank in Occupied Palestine. Since it opened its doors in 2006, the organisation continues to grow, develop and expand, enabling the young generation in the area to develop new and important skills which will allow them to build a better future for themselves and for their society." I encourage you to watch their promo film here .

Despite the theatre being a cultural institution, it has endured substantial harassment from the Israeli military. On July 27th of this year, the theatre was attacked by Israeli soldiers at 3:30 AM. They took one of the staff members of the theatre and he remains in prison today. Reasons are still unknown. On Saturday, August 6th, one of the acting students was taken by the Israeli military at a checkpoint on his way to Ramallah. He is also in prison with reasons unknown:  Press Release.

Those who make the Freedom Theatre what it is today are an inspiring bunch. They have endured hardship upon hardship (even losing their mentor and director this past April), death, destruction, and violence yet they continue with their mission and even travel to Europe and the US for performances. The Freedom Theatre students have found salvation in acting and one of the young men in the promo video even says, "something to live for" ...

(Image below of the Jenin horse constructed by Thomas Kilpper by invitation of the Geothe Institute. Horse is 5 meters high and made out of the scrap metal from destroyed houses and cars found after the massacre.)