What would checkpoints in the UK look like? 'No way through'
‘No way through‘ is an imaginative thought experiment that illustrates the daily experience of Palestinians in the israeli-occupied Palestinian territories (in this case, the West Bank) as transposed into the UK. It is produced by social justice filmmakers and activists Ctrl-Alt-Shift in the UK (see also their FB group). Paul Woodward calls it an act of imagination through which we can “attempt to understand what it means to be living under military occupation. [It helps] those of us who take freedom of movement for granted to have a sense of what it means when that freedom is taken away.” After the fold, there are some other good visual examples of creative dissent.
By Adam of the Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association, from Walled In: What if London Had An Apartheid Wall? via World Press Network.
(actual graffiti on the apartheid wall constructed illegally by israel)
Puts things for the english ppl in a different perspective i’d say. Northern Ireland has had to live with 40 yrs of checkpoints and armed soilders on the streets so i can relate somewhat.
Hopefully it will have the same effect on the people there as “The War Game” had on me when I saw it back in ’67.
http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=wargamethe
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The 7-minute film “No Way Through” recreates the Palestinian experience in an English environment. It brilliantly portrays realities that have been well documented by such acclaimed works as Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation by Saree Makdisi. What does this have to do with Lebanon? Everything. It exposes the ugly truth hiding behind the Israeli pretence of, as PM Netanyahu once again just days ago cooed, its “deep desire for peace.” [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Speeches+by+Israeli+leaders/2009/Statement+by+PM_Netanyahu_suspend_new_construction_Judea_Samaria_25-Nov-2009.htm]
For over thirty years Israel has delivered death and destruction to Lebanon. For over thirty years Israel has called upon its Western allies to enable its aggressions. For over thirty years Lebanon has been split and splintered over its right to defend itself against the relentless bombardments. All the while, Israel has delivered to the world the carefully crafted image of the democracy of the Middle East seeking liberty and justice for all.
We Westerners have turned away from the ugly truth for which we are so uncomfortably complicit. Perhaps if you watch this film clip, though, which is merely translated to a familiar setting where the people look and sound like we do, then perhaps you can begin to understand the pain and frustration of the Palestinian and Lebanese people. Perhaps you can feel the anguish of being judged unworthy to live. The frustration of knowing the world believes your judge, even as he mocks you with his “deep desire for peace.”