CHILDREN OF BETHLEHEM
THE EXHIBITION
Each child was photographed with their self-portrait held over her or his face, both as a form of self-expression as well as identity protection. On the right side of their portraits they convey their reality and on the left side they share their hopes for their future. Every photograph is accompanied by an interview in which they explain their drawing, share one primary aspect of living in Bethlehem, and express one of their fears, and one of their dreams.
Bishara بشارة
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A: "First of all, I drew this to show the grace of God. Like, He created the trees and the sun for us. Also, I drew our house and I’m playing futbol with my friends in front of it. Also, these trees God created to show the beauty of the nature and they give us oxygen, that’s it. In the second part I drew my future--that I want to become a business man and have my own company so I can care for the poor people, give them money and let them have a good life."
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A: "Honestly, my uncle is living outside the country and he knows a little about Bethlehem, but he does not know that the occupation is trying every day to take our property, our houses, they [Israelis] try to kill children and they take them to the Israeli prisons. For example, the Israeli soldiers come every single day to our land in Nahalin and tell us, ‘We will take your land,’ so every single day we resist them and we try to protect it."
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: "The occupation."
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: "My dreams, that one day the occupation will go away and never come back so we can live in peace.
Guevara جيفارا
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A: “I drew my reality which is that we are living in very difficult times because of the occupation, and we cannot study easily. Also, we go to school with fear inside. Every one of us is worried anything could happen anytime. On the other side I drew that I want to become a doctor and to live a happy life without any problems."
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A: “I will say that we are living a very hard and difficult life and we cannot study easily like other kids.”
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: “School closes and not being able to study."
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: "One of my dreams is to live a happy life without problems."
Joyce جويس
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A: "I live through music, singing, and drawing and I would like to live like this in future. In the future I wish to become a singer and to teach my kids how to sing or to play one of the instruments."
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A: "He should know that we are living under occupation and we cannot live like this all of our lives, we can live in happiness not just in sadness."
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: "I’m afraid of not being able to live in happiness and peace. I’m afraid to continue our lives through sadness."
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: "To become a singer."
Baha’ بهاء
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A: “My name is Baha’. Here I’m talking about the summer; it is the most beautiful season in the year. We can go on trips and do a lot of things. It is the season of activities. And here I’m expressing about the Zionist occupation through expressions. They are the destroyer, the machine of destruction, and we are expelled from our lands and homes and separated from each other through its separation wall. Here I wish to have an electronic bicycle, and through this camera I capture my beautiful country. And here I’m talking about my hobbies, my age, and that in the future I would love to become an 'Athletic man', to play football, swim, do gymnastics, and become a football player. Also, here, when I get old, I want to be married and live in my villa. And lastly, here I’m expressing that we can resist and fight the occupation through education and through resilience, not through guns."
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A:“I will tell him to compare between the Palestinian kids and the other kids in the world and he will find a huge difference between them. Because here we do not have our simple rights because of the occupation, but the other kids they have the normal freedoms that we do not know here and do not have.”
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: “I’m afraid of being alone, I mean like all my family dies and to remain without them, like an orphanage kid, and to be killed by the Israeli soldiers.”
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: “To become older, to have a high score in my last year in school, to get married and to live in a villa.”
Mai ماي
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A: “In reality, we suffer from a lot of problems, the occupation prevents our freedom and prevents our freedom to visit other Palestinian cities because of the wall and from the checkpoints, they are not letting us take our freedom to move in our country.
“My dreams, I wish to become a doctor in my future to help people, travel, and to do everything I could not do because of the occupation.”
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A: “I will tell them, that we suffered a lot to get to this stage, and we have not lived the lives that we wish.”
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: “That my dreams would not come true in the future and I won’t be able to do what I wish for.”
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: “To become a superior doctor, successful in my work, and to help people.”
Ihab ايهاب
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A:“First, I have to two parts. The first one is the reality part and the second is the light part, “the future”. In the reality part I’m expressing the occupation, murder, and the unjustness I wish one day that will change. Here I’m using the colors that express sadness, because Bethlehem and its citizens are living a sad life. I draw that I have the ability to express my freedom and I can play basketball and futbol. Then I’m talking about my life in Dheisheh refugee camp, they seek refuge, the small spaces and the bond houses.
“The second part, I draw happiness, freedom, and what I wish to become in the future. For example, I wish to work in the hospital, and to make good money so I can help the poor and the needy people, and to have a great generation that can work for our freedom.”
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A: “Life in Bethlehem is difficult because of the occupation although the life generally in Palestine is difficult because we are living under the occupation. Also, my life in the refugee camp is also difficult. I would tell him that Bethlehem has religious places and the church where Jesus Christ was born and that Bethlehem is the city of sacrifice.”
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: “The occupation.”
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: “Playing basketball on the Ibda’ Dheisheh team.”
George جورج
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A: “In reality to be happy…. To have the ability to play everything and every sport. In the future I want to become an engineer.”
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A: “It’s entertainment… that’s it.”
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: “Nothing.”
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: “To become an engineer.”
Kinda كندا
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A: “Okay, I drew here that we are crying a lot and we are really sad, cause we are living under the occupation and we need freedom and peace. At the same time, I love to swim and play futbol. In the future I wish to become an engineer, teach swimming, also I wish that Palestine become a happy country and me as well.”
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A: “I would love to say that Palestine is really a very beautiful country although we are under occupation, but Palestine is the most beautiful country.”
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: “I’m afraid that one day the Israeli soldiers will take one of my family members, because I do not like [to live without my family] and I cannot live without my family.”
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: “To become an engineer.”
Kenzy كنزي
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A: “I drew Palestine under occupation and we are very sad because of that. At this time, I really love to play futbol very much and I like music a little bit. In this picture I wish I can become a business woman, a very good swimmer, and I wish I can see Palestine free.”
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A: “That we are not just living under occupation, but we are living our lives even when we are under occupation.”
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: “That Palestine will be destroyed.”
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: “To become a business woman.”
Ali علي
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A: “I’m showing the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli occupation how they victimize the Palestinians and the Palestinian prisoners, they are the heart of the Arab world. I want to be an engineer in the future.”
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A: “Life in Bethlehem is not easy, and it is bad because of the occupation, and they [Israelis] victimize our people.”
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: “One of my fears? Prisons. Prisons.”
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: “To become an engineer.”
Mohammad محمد
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A: “This picture expresses that we are living under the occupation and injustice. The occupation is not letting us do anything, or whatever we want to do. It is taking everyone from us without [them] doing anything. This is the light [pointing to the yellow spot over his heart] that will release Palestine.”
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A: “I will tell him, that we live under occupation and we are fighting to protect it [Bethlehem].”
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: “For example, that the Israeli soldiers kill one of my family members.”
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: “My dream is to see Palestine released from the occupation.”
Dareen دارين
Q: Tell me about your drawing.
A: “The reality that we are living is the wall and the occupation. At the moment, we are studying and we go to schools but, when we are on our way to school we face a lot of problems because of the checkpoints the Israeli occupation built. We are studying so we can resist this hard time which contains the wall and the occupation. In the future I want to become a doctor, to open a chips factory with my friends, develop our YouTube channel, travel all around the world and to open a big medical center.”
Q: What is something you would tell a friend who lives far away about living in Bethlehem?
A: “We suffer from numerous difficulties, in Bethlehem there is a separation wall and many checkpoints from the occupation, you can't imagine how difficult it is to move in our country.”
Q: What is one of your fears?
A: “I’m afraid that one day they stop our education, close our schools, and I never have the chance to achieve my dreams.”
Q: What is one of your dreams?
A: “We have the biggest channel on Youtube, to travel outside the country, and to study from my dream of medicine.”