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Active Memory Program
For several years now, AL-JANA has been conducting a campaign to collect oral testimonies from Palestinian refugees in Lebanon with particular attention to folk stories and songs, recollections of the uprooting, accounts of life in Palestine and empowering experiences and cultural contributions of Palestinians in Lebanon. Two teams of field workers have been trained to this end, and so far over 550 testimonials of material have been recorded and archived. Based on these testimonials, Al-JANA is producing its bilingual newsletter Al-jana, as well as active learning packs and multi-media productions for youth and educators, while developing a user friendly archive and website.
Al-Jana Periodical
Since 1994 the center has produced eight Arabic and two English issues of a journal that is focused on Palestinian memory and oral culture.
During 2002, we published our second English al-Jana. Dr. Rosemary Sayigh is the editor of this issue that focuses on recent and current work on Palestinian oral testimony.
A special issue of al-Jana, and focusing on Palestinian women and active memory, edited by Dr. Faiha Abd El-Hadi, was published in Arabic by the end of the year 2008.
"Speaking Truth to Empower"
Our most recent project in the Active Memory program, is "Speaking Truth to Empower", a campaign to collect and publish the experiences of Palestinians, of all ages, who have overcome all forms of marginalization and impoverishment, through individual and collective effort and resourcefulness. These experiences can help young Palestinian overcome the culture of helplessness, isolation and fatalism, towards a culture that builds on its creativity and vitality.
Some of these profound human experiences should be shared with people around the world.
Ein Il Hilwat project
A women team from AL-JANA is working with a group of women in Ein Il Hilweh to document the empowering experiences of women and girls who lived under Israeli occupation of south Lebanon from 1982-84, while men and youth were incarcerated in concentration camps. The women and girls reconstructed the destroyed camp and undertook ingenious initiatives in community building and resistance. These interviews are developing into forums for the exchange of experiences and engaging other women. The whole process is being documented by a film that is directed by Dana Abu Rahmeh, produced by AL-JANA.
1948 Active Learning Project
The learning through action approach is adopted in this project to bring home to our youth the reality of the events leading up to the Palestinian Uprooting, and the harsh challenges that faced the refugees. In 1998 (50 years since the uprooting) 20 researchers interviewed 114 Palestinian elders living all over Lebanon. The testimonies these elders offered provided the basis for a pro-active learning pack (a story book, testimonies, action sheets, film and audio CD). The 20 testimonies and action sheets focus on issues such as women’s roles and children’s experiences during the war, the atrocities and forced displacement. The Story Book is based upon the trials and tribulations of two children (a brother and a sister) who loose each other during the war and are later reunited. These resources engage the young in doing critical research and in expressing their views in creative and engaging ways.
Folktales and folksongs remembered in Exile
The active memory program fieldworkers started recording interviews and collecting oral folklore in the year 1995. Our archives have now 150 hours of folk-tales and folk-songs that have been recorded after almost 50 years of living in exile.
AL-JANA is producing resources based on this rich collection.
- “Ya Darna Yam Al-Shadjar Ikhzar”“O Home of Ever Green Trees” book
A team of experts worked on turning some of these folksongs and folktales into a printed resource for facilitators and children that was printed during 2009. Prepared by Jaber Suleiman and illustration and drawing by Saa’d Hajo.
We plan soon to start filming interviews on the significance of these folk tales and folk songs with the elders who still live with their memory.
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