“Art is our situation. When you don’t have a homeland . . . and when people deny your existence. So art is a form of saying we are here. We have long roots here. [Art] gives home to the homeless.” From the river to the sea and despite the occupation, Palestinians have refused to let passions be stifled. Their lives, to this day, remain interwoven with the strength and willpower portrayed in arts, sports, and religion to create a sense of normalcy against all odds.
Art is more than self-expression; it is a brushstroke of resistance against hardships faced by Palestinians. With every stroke and note, artists carve room for dissent, challenging the occupation and expressing the resilience of their spirit. In Palestine, art is the voice of the Ummah.
Music
Music is a powerful and evocative tool of resistance, transcending borders and expressing the unyielding spirit of individuals and communities in the face of occupation. Music serves as a vehicle for storytelling by providing a narrative of the experiences and aspirations of its people. Sabreen is a Palestinian band founded from the rubble of captivity.
They mix Arab Orientalism music expressed through rap, street music, and hip-hop with verses from Mahmoud Darwish’s poetry to create a sonic representation of their reality. In 1982, they released their album, Dukhan El Barakin, as an act of condemnation of the occupation’s attacks on Lebanon. Their later albums, Maout El Nabi, Here Come The Doves, and Ila Fein also criticized the apartheid regime and promoted Palestinian liberation and Arab heritage. Moreover, singer and founding member Kamelya Jubran explained their music as their final form of resistance: her breathtaking vocals chanted “We’ve tried resistance, we’ve tried confrontation, we’ve tried intifada, we’ve tried peace. What else is left to us?” to which the answer was “To sing.”
Music serves as a unifying force, bringing people together in shared experiences of oppression. In an attempt to rebel and resist, Osprey V, the first rock band originating in Gaza, sings emotional songs expressing Palestinian pain and power. The band is made up of five members; an accountant, two lawyers, an agronomist, and a Swiss humanitarian worker. Lead singer, Raji El-Jaru, explains that their music transports the “peak of feeling” human nature and resistance.
They aim to share both the struggles that come with being a Palestinian under an apartheid regime while using English in an attempt to reach a larger audience and educate the masses about the reality of the situation they live under. However, this is not the only reason behind their music, songwriter Moamin El-Jaru shares that while he writes for Palestine first and foremost, he hopes his music touches anyone suffering with their homeland be it with occupation or other life complications.
Another Palestinian music prodigy is Mohammad Assaf who, against all odds, won Arab Idol in 2013. Born in 1989, Assaf started singing in the Khan Younes refugee camp when he was only four years old. Over the years, he developed his personal style combining traditional Palestinian music with Arab orientalism, then managed to jump over the border and drive from the Gaza Strip to Egypt to participate in Arab Idol. After his win, Assaf became an international hit in the world of music and a renowned United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Palestine. Assaf’s persistence not only resulted in a milestone achievement but proved to the world that life under occupation would not stifle Palestinian ambition.
Drawings & Galleries
“Growing up in a war zone, your life becomes defined by bombardment and by loss,” are the words Gazan artist Malak Mattar uses to describe her early life in Palestine. Malak, who was only 14 when the IOF demolished her neighborhood, found solace and refuge in the folds of her white sketchbook. In 2016, the Palestinian Museum in Bristol was captivated by her work offering her the opportunity to showcase it to the world. However, no visas were being issued and there was no way out of the Gaza Strip. Luckily, a year later traveled to Turkey where she studied Political Science and International Affairs. Malak’s education and exposure to different cultures allowed her to broaden her vision and inspired her to make art dedicated to “universal” matters. Today, Malak is an international artist whose commitment to her homeland echoed in her solo exhibition at the Garden Court Chamber whose committee gave her a no-censorship pass to showcase whatever drawings she felt deemable.
Sharif Sarhan is yet another Gazan artist who showcases his passion to persist through paintings, photographs, and sculptures.
In 2016, the 47-year-old worked on implementing the Gaza Lighthouse, a project aimed at reusing war remnants and natural materials to create the first lighthouse in the area. Over the years, Sarhan participated in solo and group exhibitions in Britain, the United States, Jordan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Lastly, Assaf El-Kharti followed in the footsteps of Sarhan by recycling scraps and war remnants to portray the reality of his life in the South of Gaza. He believes that all Gazans need to recycle their lives, hopes, and dreams far from the “imposed blockage” for proper rehabilitation and a better life.
Sports
Far from the arts, Palestinian humanity appears in more ways than one. In the midst of political upheaval and violence, sports can transcend all limitations to remind people of their livelihood becoming a platform for individuals and communities to reclaim the fleeting sense of normalcy.
The Gaza Surf Club is an initiative founded in 2008 by Explore Corps to make surfing in the Gaza Strip more accessible through training, education, and community development. Explore Corps and Palestinian surfers work to establish training programs tailored to the situation, surroundings, and resources to create a fully self-sustainable surfing community in the area where equipment, talents, and trainers are locally-sourced. The club aims to build a clubhouse funded by the Gaza government, some charitable organizations, and international donations.
In addition to the surf club, Explore Corps partnered with Camps Breakerz, a Palestinian dance team formed in 2004 to allow Palestinian youth to express themselves through dance. The educational and entertainment services they provide allow them to form the first dance school in the
Nuseirat Refugee Camp to spread their passion for dance throughout the Gaza Strip. Despite their promising start, Camps Breakerz went through several wars that left them displaced but would not denounce their dreams. They shared their joyful spirit with others in 2014 and danced on the rubbles of the Northern town and traveled to UN schools to spread hope amongst kids in Palestine. Skateboarding in Gaza is another form of mental refuge for the Gazan youth.
Since the formation of Ha’ramba Skatepark at the seaport in 2019, the whirling sounds of skateboards and laughter have been echoing throughout. This initiative started when a group of people from the Lambretta, a social center in Milan, visited the Gaza Strip in 2014 and created the organization, Gaza Freestyle, to start a street art festival as a form of cultural exchange. Just a few years later, the park became famous and people like Captain Rajab, 27, and Yassir, 16, were known for their team spirit and astonishing skills despite their age gap. The two appear to bond over their passion for skateboarding and learning new tricks. According to Captain Rajab, he discovered skateboarding in 2015 at a Gaza Freestyle Street festival, learned how to use it through YouTube, and helped build the skatepark in an attempt to encourage more people to pursue skateboarding.
Journalism
Moving on to more recent news, journalists in Palestine tend to be a main showcase of Palestinian culture. In times of conflict, journalism becomes the vigilant guardian of truth in the fog of uncertainty.
Journalists like Bisan Owda and Motaz Aziza have been sharing their lives on Instagram for years. Bisan is a twenty-five-year-old journalist and filmmaker whose aim is to share snippets of her life in Gaza and educate her audience on Palestinian stories and heritage. Her productions and Hakawatiyah snippets were a source of joy and peace perpetuated throughout the land. Similarly, Motaz’s goal was to show an amorous side of Palestine.
The twenty-four-year-old documents his life-sharing activities, scenery, and general updates about the land through his camera lens. His footage mainly aimed on showcasing Palestine’s beauty to the world, however, sInce the beginning of the attacks on the 7th of October, Motaz’s photography elapsed from exceptional scenery to destruction, displacement, and pain. Their work alludes to a level of normalcy to the occupied land showing its true colors and rich life.
After the Nakba, several bans and rules were imposed on Palestinians. For years, they were banned from raising their flag and even using the four colors (red, green, white, black) to preach their sovereignty. Yet in 1967, they used the watermelon as an artistic symbol to defy the new regime and practice their rights as citizens of the land.
Palestinian life stands testament to the indomitable spirit of a people navigating the complexities of war and displacement. From the smiles on their faces, their eagerness to persist, to their collective faith and determination to break free, Palestinian people tell a story of resilience and willpower that echoes through generations. Palestine teaches the world the true meaning of humanity; it advocates for freedom, justice, and love for the land through art, sports, and the stories shared among the people.
Edited by Malak Mansour