Picture Power in the occupied Palestinian territory

As part of Christian Aid’s UK aid funded resilience programme in OPT, we gave community reporters cameras and photography training and asked them to capture what had changed in their lives as a result of the project…

Ferial from Amuria took this photograph of her two grandmothers and her Aunt. One of her grandmothers had recently completed the Hadj.

Christian Aid has been working in the occupied Palestinian territory since the 1950s, and has a long history of funding programmes aimed at reducing poverty through a rights-based approach in the region. As part of this, Christian Aid secured strategic funding from DFID in 2011 to work with our partners PARC and YMCA on a community-led resilience programme. Since then, we have been supporting communities to identify and manage the risks they face in a way that prioritises community participation.

Reporters from the West Bank communities of Jub al-Dhib, Beit Skariya, Qosra and Amuria agreed to take part in a Picture Power study and document the work that they and their communities have done to address the risks they face on a daily basis, from lack of water and electricity, to unemployment, and controls and restrictions on their access to land by Israel as the occupying power.

The photographs taken by community reporters start by looking at the lives of individuals, then widen to look at their communities, their relationships with organisations and institutions, and the occupation. After spending three weeks taking the photographs, community exhibitions were held and their friends, family and neighbours invited to look at and discuss the pictures. This is a selection of those photographs.

Individual empowerment

“The scheme developed the income and the status of women in the village. We women proved we are capable of doing this; with due respect to the men, we proved that we can do a lot for our village.”

Fatimah, Jub al-Dhib

The participatory approach taken by the programme puts power into the hands of communities to identify the risks they want to address and how they want to do this. Many community reporters, particularly women, felt empowered by the project and the freedom it gave them to take control of the decisions that affect their lives.

Fadia, from Jub al-Dhib, used funds from the voluntary savings and loans scheme set up as part of the project to pursue her aim of becoming a wedding DJ. She purchased speakers and equipment, and now has regular bookings in the area.

Khouloud shared this picture of the protection committee in Beit Skariya. Her involvement in this has had a strong influence on her life. ‘I have been able to help people and that has built my confidence. During the winter there was a snowstorm, metal blew off the roof and cut someone’s main artery in their wrist. I was able to stop the bleeding until an ambulance arrived.’

‘This child had fallen down and injured his nose. He was at kindergarten so I helped him with first aid I had learnt. The first aid training came from PARC and World Vision, and was something we identified in the action plan. There were many things the women couldn’t do [in the community], *but now I have confidence and I am not afraid to help out.’ Ferial, Amuria.*

Ali in Qosra says he shares the skills he has learnt with his friends.

The strength of working together

“To be successful you should have a unified word, you need trust within your group and you should communicate well with your community to understand their needs, and then to be the voice of the community.”

Itadel, Jub al-Dhib

Reporters and community members felt that the strongest change was through the strength of the community in working together to take on issues collectively and gain greater control in making decisions that affected their lives. Women also pointed out that they felt more involved in community life and in decision-making.

In Jub al-Dhib, and in many other communities involved in the PPA programme, communities have opened co-operative shops to increase their independence and remove the need to travel to other town for goods. Fatimah took this picture of their shop, which was funded by a number of NGOs under the supervision of the community.

Other pictures in Jub al-Dhib continued on the same theme. In these pictures, taken by Fatimah, voluntary savings and loan schemes also helped boost self-reliance, allowing this tailoring business to start up. Community members have also received training in how to preserve food, as there is no electricity for refrigeration.

Self-reliance was also a theme in Beit Skariya. Aisha took this picture of her family during the grape harvest. A co-operative factory has been set up in the community, allowing everyone to process grapes and package products to sell.

‘I have been teaching for a long time but I only used to teach my relatives. But after training from PARC and the project to build a kindergarten I was able to help more people in the community, by teaching their children when they came to lessons.’ Sharooq, Amuria

Identifying and managing daily risks

“Since YMCA began working in Beit Skariya a further 15 organisations have started working in the community. This created some issues around accountability and transparency, such as the duplication of work, like houses being renovated more than once. This led the community to create a system to address these issues and co-ordinate NGO efforts through a committee.”

Hussein, Beit Skariya

There was hope and confidence that the effects of the occupation could be addressed through the work that was being carried out. There was pride in what had been achieved so far and a feeling that communities had more control over relationships with NGOs and local authorities, largely through a better understanding of their rights.

In Beit Skariya, once the grapes are harvested they are turned into a number of products, including molasses. Producing traditional foods within the community is a source of pride as it contributes to a sense of Palestinian identity. The pictures above show the traditional cooking process.

‘Older children in Amuria have to go to school in Luban, which is about 6km away. It is near the main road and there have been car accidents involving settlers, and the children have also been attacked. We tried to contact the politicians but they didn’t respond to us so we turned to the media. We talked to a TV programme about the situation and the Ministry of Transportation has since started a bus service to take them to school.’ Ferial, Amuria

The pictures show Fatimah’s son in Jub al-Dhib doing homework at first in candlelight, then in electric light. Fatimah was involved in an advocacy project that successfully approached local authorities to secure diesel for a generator for the whole village to benefit from electricity in the evenings.

Taghreed showed how terracing hillsides and planting olive trees in Qosra means that the land they live on can no longer be taken, allowing them an element of control. In the distance, illegal settlement factories are now hemmed in by olive trees, which is hoped will prevent expansion.

Control over resources

“We are not allowed to get to our land and olive groves here without military permission. During the olive harvest season we are only allowed to harvest on one day, for a specific time.”

Taghreed, Qosra

The ability to take control over resources is of huge importance for communities. By breaking down risks and tackling the effects of the occupation, smaller changes represent an achievable form of empowerment. Issues such as transport and access to resources such as water and electricity are of the utmost importance. But the loss of land remains the most pressing concern to many people.

Aisha in Beit Skariya poses in a photograph taken by Khouloud. Israeli settlers and Palestinians don’t mix, despite an illegal settlement cutting through the middle of the community. The tree is a religious site for the settlers but is on land previously owned by Aisha’s family.

‘[A few roads] have been rehabilitated and opened as part of the project. It was funded by PARC, local authorities and some other NGOs after it was included in our action plan. They connect people to the areas which previously they couldn’t get there by car.’ Taghreed, Qosra

‘In this picture, you will see our road — we are not allowed to pave this because of the settlers. We are not allowed to herd the sheep in these areas… You can see the children approaching the car without knowing the risks. The settlers have cameras and we are under surveillance all of the time — they know everyone who lives here.’ Fadia, Jub al-Dhib

Daily life

“In the past, with decision making, men were more in control. Now women are getting education there is more equality in families and in civil life. Our society is changing.”

Ferial, Amuria

Of course, the majority of the photos did not look at the project at all! Daily life was there and documented, so here are a selection of some of the photographs taken across all four communities…

From left to right: historical ruins in Amuria that have fallen into disrepair; a grain silo funded by the PPA and the community in Amuria; children playing in Beit Skariya.

L to R: Aisha poses near settlers in Beit Skariya; a young girl carries water and children play in Jub al-Dhib.

L to R: Children walking to school in Amuria; a protection committee members fights a fire in Beit Skariya; un-exploded ordinance in Qosra.

Sharing photographs with the community

Once the photographs were printed and exhibited, people had the chance to vote for those that they felt best represented their own experiences, and discussed what the project had meant for them.