Home The News Opinion Culture The Community feature About Watan عربي



  • Forgot your password?
  • Forgot your username?
  • Create an account

Opinion

The Woeful Washington Post

The Washington Post’s editors never tire of basking in the faded glory of Watergate, a scandal that occurred nearly four decades ago. Some outsiders also still call the Post “liberal.”...

Read More

Muslims Are Their Own Worst Enemy

Muslims are numerous but powerless. Divisions among Muslims, especially between Sunni and Shiites, have consigned the Muslim Middle East to almost a century of Western control. Muslims cannot even play...

Read More

Mossad’s Murderous Reach: The Larger Political Issues

On January 19 Israel’s international secret police, the Mossad, sent an eighteen member death squad to Dubai using European passports, supposedly ‘stolen’ from Israeli dual citizens and altered with fake...

Read More

What Did Mossad Get Wrong in Dubai?

Prime Minister Netanyahu and Mossad chief Meir Dagan If you were a gambling man down to your last million dollars, you could safely bet the lot on the fact that...

Read More

US Media Replays Iraq Fiasco on Iran

Major US news organizations, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, are engaged in a replay of the kind of slanted coverage that paved the way to war...

Read More

Gaza and Lebanon: Beware the Iron Wall, the Coming War

News image

The Israeli military may be much less effective in winning wars than it was in the past, thanks to the stiffness of Arab resistance. But its military strategists are as...

Read More
Children of Gaza, a Cry Against Hatred PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator   
Monday, 25 May 2009 00:05
Palestine, a land of peace and hospitality, not of war and violence: this is the message that Palestinian children are launching through the slogans they have created for the campaign promoted by the artistic project Palombology, the first spiritual activist brand, a new artistic and cultural movement founded by the artist, illustrator, author and designer aleXsandro Palombo, one of the most inspiring designers of the Italian and international scene.

Multireligiosity and multiculturalism are the characteristic features of the Palombology philosophy which through t-shirts, slogans and illustrations promotes faith and awareness, integration and dialogue between cultures, concepts of value to be reawakened and expressed openly.

«Against war and a broken childhood» aleXsandro Palombo presents a strong awareness campaign through photographs and series of artistic t-shirts inspired by the children of the REMEDIAL EDUCATION CENTER (REC), the Palestinian NGO in Jabalia which provides psychological and educational support to children who are victims of the conflict in the Gaza strip.

alexsando Palombo’s artistic research has always sought to be thought-provoking and confront thorny social, human and political issues of relevance. Palombology’s aim is to express the dreams and wishes of these children, promoting a culture of tolerance, equality and love.

A strong and innovative campaign revealing a different Palestine, a land devoted to the culture of peace, love and brotherhood, denouncing war, fanaticism and violence which is the image we usually associate with it. The Palestinian educational system suffers from a great lack of infrastructure and funds due to the difficult political situation; for this reason disadvantaged children risk being abandoned to themselves without the support of public institutions.

The REC in cooperation with the Department of Education of the Palestinian Authority and the UNWRA (the United Nations office for refugees) responds to the needs of children with psychological and learning difficulties resulting from the difficult social conditions they are forced to live in.

It promotes education through special and personalized programs which foster communication and non-violence in interpersonal relationships enforcing an innovative educational method which is extraordinary considering the difficult conditions they are operating in. It operates three specialized centres which welcomes 500 children and carries out activities in all the area’s primary schools reaching over 6000 children.

It organizes summer camps in Eastern countries with the aim to introduce the children to the western reality which is very different from theirs and allows them have an awareness of a different reality through a confrontation with their western peers.

The Director of the REC, Husam Hamdouna, stated «The children in the Gaza Strip account for 50% of the Palestinian population; over 322 were killed in the last Israeli raids and hundreds more lost everything: their family, home, clothes, toys, books and school. Support through a correct education will enable us to build a future of peace», «our special gratitude goes to aleXsandro Palombo who with this important artistic project is giving our children a voice».
Children in Gaza responded to aleXsandro Palombo’s invitation with enthusiasm and have come up with a series of clear simple messages of impact which express a desire for hope while contributing to the development of their sense of democracy and civics.

The passion, the depth and the immediacy with which they elaborated their slogans is impressive. Here are some: “We are Children for life not for death”, “ Keep wars away from us”, “I give you a branch of olive, give me a kiss“, “We love the children of the world so love us”, “We are your friends be our friends”.

“ Give me a smile instead of a bullet ” is one of the more intense and poetic messages, a slash at people’s consciences, to which aleXsandro Palombo added an image which immerges us in the crude reality, documenting the tragedy of the children in Gaza who flee from the Israeli raids.
“With love from Israel” is the title of the panel which Palombo created to denounce a broken childhood on all fronts. It portrays an atrocious scene taken from real life: Israeli girls playing at writing messages on the bombs which will be dropped on Gaza.

aleXsandro Palombo stated «The joy of Palestinian children hangs from the thread of hope. War against childhood is unacceptable on all fronts. Many of the children who survived the last raids in Gaza clinged to their mother’s body for days while the Israeli army would not allow relief workers to reach the wounded. The solitude, misery, depression, aggressiveness and fear are just some of the problems which afflict them and through artistic activities a lot can be done to rekindle their dreams and imagination. Only by giving voice to their wishes can we build a future of peace, children have no responsibility. Indifference makes us all responsible».

Palombology is also committed to aid through charity: for every t-shirt purchased a part of the sale will go to an International Ngo in aid of children who are victims of war conflicts.

-Alarabonline-

Comments (0)Add Comment

Write comment
bold italicize underline strike url image quote Smile Wink Laugh Grin Angry Sad Shocked Cool Tongue Kiss Cry
smaller | bigger

busy
 

Feature

Iraqi women miss Saddam Hussein's days

News image

Under Saddam Hussein, women in government got a year's maternity leave; that is now cut...

Read More

Iraq Defeats Avatar in Oscar

News image

HOLLYWOOD — The low-grossing Iraq war thriller "The Hurt Locker" has swept the prestigious...

Read More

Women-only taxis hit Cairo streets

News image

CAIRO - A waxed rag in hand, Inas Hamam gives her car a good buff...

Read More

Good times for Baghdad printers ahead of Iraq polls

News image

BAGHDAD - Business has never been so good for Iraq's printers in the runup to...

Read More

Over a million Syrians affected by drought

News image

DEIR EZ ZOUR - Drought in eastern and northeastern Syria has driven some 300,000 families...

Read More

Yemeni 10-year-old raped daily by old husband

News image

SANAA (IRIN) - It was every little girl's dream; she was to get a new...

Read More

All Right Reserved © Watan 1992 - 2008