Palestine Monitor, 12 November 2010
Organiser Doris Carrion with one of her students.
On the top floor of the cultural palace in Ramallah’s old city this weekend children from Tomorrow Youth Organisation (TYO), a local NGO that works with young children, have the chance to exhibit photos they have taken of their home city Nablus.
Miss Doris Carrion, a photography teacher from TYO, is organising the event. “We use the unique medium of photos to allow people to see the children’s daily lives, their feelings and their hopes”, she says.
Doris, who has been teaching at TYO for over a year now, says the main aims of her work are to help the children gain self-confidence, become more creative and be able to express themselves and the difficulties they face through art.
On top of the two dozen or so photos that fill the wall space there is also the chance to see a film made and produced by the children of TYO. I watched the film with one of its creators, Muunjahed Aghber, who tells me it is important for him that people watching it see that “we’re not terrorists”.
The story is of three separate people who each dream of visiting the Al Aqsa Mosque, which is impossible for most West Bank residents, who are not allowed to enter Jerusalem. Some of the scenes are based on the real-life experiences of the children involved. One such scene depicts a man being shot dead whilst looking out of his window as Israeli tanks approach. In retaliation his brother runs out to throw stones and is arrested. “It is very important for us that the ideas come from the children”, Doris tells me.
The event, which ran in Nablus last weekend, finishes tomorrow at 7 o’clock. Doris hopes to organise a similar event next year with other youth organisations from around the West Bank.
This weekend the cultural palace in Ramallah Tahtah is host to an exhibition of photographs taken by children from Nablus. The event was organised by Tomorrow’s Youth Organisation and Miss Doris Carrion.