Dreams and Nightmares from Aida Camp, in Black and White
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor + Susan Leem, associate producer
Mohammad Al Azzeh is a resident of Aida refugee camp whom we met while conducting interviews in the West Bank city of Bethlehem this past March. The 21-year-old Palestinian has been actively involved in Lajee Center, a cultural center in the heart of this neighborhood, and now manage its gallery and photography department.
His interest in photography and documenting the human condition within Aida was fostered as a teenager at the center when Rich Wiles, an English photographer, worked with ten 15-20 year olds to create a project titled “Dreams and Nightmares.” Each participant took two pictures: one of a dream, a hope, and the other of a nightmare, a fear.
In the audio above Mohammad describes his art and following are his two photos with captions:
“My dream is to be a famous footballer and be the captain of the Palestinian team.”
“I have nightmares about being taken away to an occupation prison. During the nights the soldiers come to the camp and arrest many children. This means that we cannot continue our studies.”
How Aida Refugee Camp Got Its Name
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
(photo: Trent Gilliss)
We met Kholoud Al Ajarma, a Palestinian woman who coordinates the arts and media activities for the Lajee Center, while conducting interviews within Aida refugee camp in the West Bank city of Bethlehem this past March. What a gift to meet her and take her photo, along with many others while working there.
Members of our staff all had different ideas about where she acquired her marvelous English accent; we were all wrong. But now we know. Maybe you’d like to guess? Listen to the audio clip above from this week’s show in which Kholoud tells a charming story about how Aida camp got its name. Submit a comment here, and I’ll post the answer shortly.
