GAZA: The U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) inaugurates an exhibition of its newly-digitized photo and film archive dating back to 1948, chronicling over half a century of regional turbulence, unrest and turmoil

Record ID: 402500

  • Title: GAZA: The U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) inaugurates an exhibition of its newly-digitized photo and film archive dating back to 1948, chronicling over half a century of regional turbulence, unrest and turmoil
  • Date: 26th June 2014
  • Summary: GAZA CITY, GAZA (RECENT) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF FRENCH CULTURAL INSTITUTE WHERE EXHIBITION WAS HELD UNRWA COMMISSIONER-GENERAL PIERRE KRAHENBUL SPEAKING AT EXHIBITION OPENING MEDIA AT EXHIBITION OPENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNRWA COMMISSIONER-GENERAL PIERRE KRAHENBUL SAYING: "I really want to underline the importance of the exhibition that is being opened today and the a
  • Embargoed: 11th July 2014 13:00
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  • Location: Gaza
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA3QQHZCS3SIDY67ZFG1L27VLXT
  • Story Text: The United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has inaugurated an exhibition of iconic photos and films in the Gaza Strip.
    Entitled 'The Long Journey' the exhibition draws on the agency's extensive archive of over half a million negatives, prints, slides, films and videocassettes dating back to 1948. The exhibition chronicles the displacement of Palestinians who were forced to leave their homes or fled from what is now Israel, the establishment of refugee camps in the 1950s, the 1967 mideast war that saw a new influx of refugees, the Lebanon civil war and unrest in the years that followed until today.

    "I really want to underline the importance of the exhibition that is being opened today and the archive project in terms first of all of the physical preservation of the collection in itself," UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbull told guests and media at the inauguration.
    The exhibition coincides with the digitization of the media archive, which UNRWA has partly made available online.
    UNRWA was established in 1949 to care for approximately 750,000 displaced Palestinian refugees. Today, UNRWA provides services to over 5 million refugees and their descendants, in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza and the West Bank.
    The exhibition portrays various aspects of those services, from health and education to tent cities that initially housed refugees in the years following the 1948 war.

    "It's a very rich exhibition, that revives the memory of the Palestinian people, a painful memory. It revives the memory for the future generations to come in order to assume the responsibility of the people who were made homeless as a result of wars and conflicts between people," said exhibition visitor Usama Mabruk.
    But, Kr�enbhl insists the exhibition does not focus only on a legacy of dispossession.

    "This photo exhibition is so important, because what it shows is not only the suffering, the loss, but it also shows the achievement, and the achievement of Palestinians, for other Palestinians when they are working in UNRWA and helping their own community," he said.
    Other visitors said they also saw elements of happiness in the exhibition, which chronicles not only hardship, but also every day life in areas UNRWA operated.

    "This exhibition reminds us of our ancestors, how they suffered, in the days of poverty, blockade and catastrophes," said Thafer Al-Hilu, a guest at the opening. "Despite the suffering they tried to live their lives normally and they smiled and they were optimistic," he added. Siham Abu Shaaban, another visitor, agreed. "They were people who loved life, who enjoyed their lives. Despite everything they went through they lived normal lives, they didn't let occupation and other things affect them."
    The archive is comprised of 430,000 negatives, 10,000 prints, 85,000 slides, 75 films and 730 videocassettes. It can be partially accessed online at http://archive.unrwa.org.
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