Summer in Jaffa

These last two weeks I’ve been working with Arab-Jewish youth group Sadaka Reut, at their summer camp in Ajami, at the heart of Jaffa. Local teenagers, mainly Arab, but a few Jewish too, participated in a series of creative workshops, all run in English, including drama, film-making, photography and dance.

The camp’s leaders, Arab and Jewish, share a communal house in Jaffa, on a year’s programme run by Sadaka Reut (meaning ‘friendship’ in Arabic and Hebrew respectively). Here, leaders Nur and Ya'el sit on the steps of the bomb shelter that serves as activity centre for the group. It’s camp day one and Iman, one of the participants, is still too shy to have her picture taken. By the end of the week, the kids had forgotten the camera was there.

Drama workshop leader Alon, and Amir, act as one in the ‘I’m your hands’ game. Each pair invents a fancy-dress character, the hands of the one at the back reflecting the words of the one in front. Then the characters meet, leading to a series of lively – and strange – exchanges. It loosens everyone up, day one, before the group has started to bond.

Participants must create a scene with two characters in conflict. One pleads for forgiveness, and the other refuses to give in for as long as he can. When he cracks, he must administer a hug or a slap, according to preference. Most prefer the slap. Here, Mohamad acts the part of a woman begging her husband's forgiveness for burning the dinner. ‘Just like my mother,’ Mohamad observed of his weeping and wailing act, which produced hysterics amongst the spectators. Che Guevara looks on from a background wall.

Another ‘forgiveness’ scenario. This time Iyad pleads with his ‘girlfriend’ Danielle, a Jewish participant from Haifa.

Drama workshop was a favourite, and Mohamad the group's favourite entertainer. Here, his scene with Hejar dissolves into laughter. Jamila, Walaa and leader Tsion look on.

Walaa gets to grips with the graffiti as the group decorates the outside of the bomb shelter with spray paint. French graffiti artists Serial Kolors showed a film about graffiti in New York's Black community, and helped the group create their own tags, using the English alphabet.

Adi, a Jewish participant, signs his tag on the bomb shelter wall.

Local boy Mohamad saw the others doing graffiti and decided to join in. Later, he came to the music workshop and became part of the group.

Walaa does a cartwheel across the room. Capoeira took place in the hottest part of the afternoon, and the foreign moves were tough. But neither the heat nor the rigour of the challenge put Walaa off.

Comments

[Uri I Z]

At work. Can't read all the text. The pics are great! I like the pic of a boy and girl laughing in the shelter (3 ppl at the back).
.. - - - UiZ - - - ..

[Leila]

hey UiZ, nice tag, and thanx for the words... L

[M]

Was fascinated to read about Sadaka Reut - WONDERFUL PHOTOGRAPHS!! Also have noted your new blog name, "The Other Side". Would be interested to know the background to the new name. M

[Leila]

M - see post below for background to new name. The last year has been a journey, learning and a change of perspective, as well as development of new projects in London that fit with writing on the blog. I wanted a name that reflected this. L x

[ronen]

HI leila
the pics look realy good. did you took them?
i hope i can come on tuesday
i will call you for details
have a nice weekend
you look well too
ronen

[Leila]

thanks ronen, i did take them ... hope to see you too. L

[M]

Would you elaborate on "change of perspective" when you have a moment?

Love you

M

[Leila]

M - that's a hard one. It's best explained through some of my blog entries over the year. Maybe the 'favourites entries' on the right are turning points. I guess you might see the things I learned, puzzle pieces added.

"The other side" is the last phrase in the Ramallah post, and the one I used as title to an exhibition of my writing and pictures in London: "The words and images here are a response to divisions - within Israel, where Arabs and Jews rarely interact, and between Palestine and Israel, whose societies are forbidden from coming into contact by law".

L x

[Joseph]

Hola Ducks,

In your most recent blog on the role play I noticed you call the guy in the green t-shirt Nur and then Mohamed. Is Nur his nickname? As usual your photos are brilliant. I love the grafitti.

Besos

[Leila]

hi babe - no in the second pic, mohamad, the one begging 'for forgiveness' is not the guy in the green T-shirt, he's the one on the floor with the scarf on head. thanks for the compliments!
xxxx

[Stina]

Leila, its so wonderful that you have, in such a short space of time, united your passions and personal fortes in these creative community projects...it's really moving. And i have an image of you out there, so happy and giving and fulfilled and beautiful.

xxxxx

[Paul]

Hi Leila,
I think the photos are really good, I really do. What you've done is use flash at a lower than normal shutter speed (with focal plane shutters the shutter can sync with the flash at all shutter speeds up to the standard sync speed, which is normally around 1/125, this means from 1 sec to 1/125, but it's normally used at 1/125), this is known as blur flash technique and what happens is that the shutter is still open to record the available light after the flash light has finished, so the blurred bit is made by the slow shutter speed recording the available daylight whilst the main expsure is made by the flash, this technique is used alot in nightclub photography as it enhances the sense of movement.

I'm happy that you are enjoying your photography, as with anything if you enjoy you'll learn it. Keep taking and enjoying your photos and when you are back I will definitely come over.
Paul x

[Alice]

Your photographs are wonderful Leila - really beautiful - fantastic light, and such personality in those faces - you must have really connected with them. Well done darling! and keep it up! Oh, and i'll take some pics of Cinemitic on Thursday for you - won't forget

xxx

[nour minawi]

nour.minawi@hotmail.com
hey laila how are you ?..
you can send me phots from the summer ..
the camp?