THE GAZA MONOLOGUES
Project background
The Israeli Operation "Cast Lead" on the Gaza Strip in December 2008 - January 2009 was
extremely violent and led in 22 days to the death of at least 1380 Palestinians,
amongst which 431 were children. At least 5380 were wounded including 1872
children. An estimated number of 100, 000 people were newly displaced. 1
Houses, schools, hospitals, places of worship and cultural centers were destroyed.
A year later, the blockade of Gaza remains and its separation from the West Bank
has deepened since the West Bankers were completely impotent to stop the
massacre or help their Gazan fellow Palestinians.
ASHTAR’s involvement in Gaza started in 1994 at a time when the area was
accessible and when the Gaza theatre community expressed an initial desire of
training to ASHTAR. However, in 1995, as the PNA took its responsibilities in
Gaza, Israel drastically restricted access to the strip for the West Bankers, notably
Jerusalemites. The program continued through Dutch director Jan Willems for 2
years.
In 2009, ASHTAR Theatre, through its Gaza trainer Ali Abu Yassine, started
training youth in Gaza again with the support of UNICEF. In 2010, we started
training a new group aged 14 to 18 using drama therapy and creative writing. The
first three months of work focused on the wounds of the Gaza attack of December
2008-January 2009, the youth's individual experiences, their dreams , fears and
hopes... This work led to the birth of The Gaza Mono-Logues.
1World Health Organization, Gaza strip, Initial health ne eds assessments , Health Cluster, 16/02/2009.
Synopsis
ASHTAR Theatre is mobilising its long-built global artistic network to produce
recitals of The Gaza Mono-Logues with youth groups in about 30 world cities, in
as many languages, all opening on the same day: the 17 th of October 2010.
Gaza will be the starting point; at ten in the morning the initial group will
inaugurate the event by reciting their monologues on the sea shore and sending
them out as paper boats to the world through the sea. The event will be covered
by local and international media.
Each country will then start their own recitals, following international time zones
until returning to Palestine where each Palestinian city will have its own event.
Ramallah Cultural Palace and Al Shawwa Cultural Center in Gaza will be linked
through satellite with other partnering countries.
After this grand opening, the partners will continue performing the monologues
as they wish. ASHTAR Theatre will encourage them and newcomers to program
The Gaza Mono-Logues in world theatres and distribute the texts in a pocket
book. ASHTAR will document the whole initiative in video and in an art book.
In November, each partnering country will send one young actor to meet us in
New York where we will put up a recital in all languages to be performed to the
General Assembly of the UNITED NATIONS, in its annual meeting on The
Question of Palestine.
ASHTAR is endeavoring for the group of Gazan youth to be permitted to leave
Gaza, despite the blockade, and travel to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris to
perform themselves on the Day of Solidarity with Palestine.
Project Significance
“Today’s young people are tomorrow’s leaders”
The project aims:
1. To help the traumatized youth in Gaza to readjust and regain trust in
adults and in life through the use of theatre.
2. To draw worldwide attention on the universality of war and
destruction, and to provide a channel for individuals and organisations to
express their solidarity with children in such circumstances.
3. To provide a platform for Gaza youth to raise their voice and reach out
to the world in order to break their isolation.
4. To create a network of youth raising their voices and answering
through artistic actions to the world they grow in.
5. To provide a forum for the Palestinian artistic community to engage in
a worldwide media campaign that highlights the Palestinian cause.
6. To help break the siege imposed on Gaza and to reaffirm the unity of
Palestine as one entity.
7. To reform the stereotypes about Gaza and its inhabitants, created by
the media, and present its young people as individuals who have dreams,
hopes and fears.
8. To help generate more justice to Gaza and Palestine by addressing the
UN General Assembly with a unified global civil society message through
young people’s voices, about a cause that drew worldwide attention.
“The importance of this project is in the fact that the young people need friendships and
forms to express their emotions and frustrations. It will also provide them with a sense
of community and support among themselves. Their presence in such a project breaks
the fatal life circumstances and stagnation present in Gaza… sometimes even just going
out of the house is a big deal…
People in Gaza need their stories to be heard around the world… “
Ali Abu Yassine
Partners
Creating a recital of The Gaza Mono-Logues in their cities and joining us to
the UN performance:
Jordan, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, Norway, Sweden, China, Korea, Australia, USA, Belgium, Austria,
Hungary, Italy, UK, …
Supporting this initiative financially or in kind :
Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad, Ministry of Culture, Padr, Qattan center for the Child-Gaza,
E.E.D., D.E.D., Ma’an, …
You are a producer or a film director and would like to document this
journey, please contact us.
An international support committee and help spread the message to the
world.
Naomi Wallace, Playwright (US) / Lisa Schlesinger, Playwright (US)
Dan Baron Cohen, Playwright, director, educator, theorist, President of IDEA (Brazil)
Dr. Dragan Klaic, Theatre scholar (The Netherlands) / Afif Safieh, Ambassador (Palestine)
Abbas Nokhasteh , Openvizor (UK) / David Gothard, Theatre Director (UK)
Bashar el Azzeh, Entrepreneur (Palestine) / Noora el Shawa, Publisher (Cyprus)
Titouan Lamazou, UNESCO Artist for Peace (France) / Jihad Saad, Actor (Syria) …