Palestinian Rula Salameh Honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship
This is a letter written by Rula Salameh.
“I am proud to share that Just Vision’s Creative Director Julia Bacha has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for our media project on women’s leadership in the First Intifada.
This project fulfills my dream to tell the story of one of the most important periods of collective organizing and unity in Palestinian history. Women were the backbone of the movement, and I’m thrilled that we’re able to bring their under-documented stories to light.
Interviewing the remarkable women leaders from that era has taken me on a profoundly inspiring journey.
The First Intifada was a time when the spirit of volunteerism was abundant. Everyone had a role to play. Teachers organized underground schools. Wealthy families helped disperse resources to those in need. Children and grandmothers participated in sit-ins and strikes. We planted community gardens and organized mass boycotts and demonstrations. We were unified, and we believed our freedom was imminent. No matter the obstacles, we resolved to push forward, driven by our desire to live in dignity, free of occupation.
It took decades of organizing to lay the groundwork for the mass participation of the First Intifada. Now, a new generation of leaders across Palestine continues to organize their communities and shape this chapter of the struggle to end the occupation. Our project brings to life the lessons of a previous generation who took leadership in a game-changing historical moment. It creates an opportunity for intergenerational sharing of strategies and challenges.
As today’s grassroots leaders emphasize the critical need to revisit these lessons, the Guggenheim Foundation’s recognition will meaningfully help us move this project forward, but it only covers a fraction of the production costs.
My seventeen-year old son and his generation did not grow up in the freedom we envisioned for them. Instead, as many experience the ongoing violence and persistence of military rule, they question the very possibility of a future of freedom, dignity and equality.
I want to reignite hope in my son and his friends. I want my son and all young women and men in Palestine to believe that a better future here is possible – and to unite and participate in building that future. I believe the creative, courageous stories from this unique moment in history can renew their vision for the future.
We need your help to finish shooting and start the editing process. Please consider supporting this important project by making a tax-deducible donation today.
With purpose,
Rula Salameh
Education and Outreach Manager, Palestine
Source: myemail.constantcontact.com