STATEMENT
The installation states simply that if justice prevailed Palestinian children would be out of prison and on the streets, free and having fun. The skateboards symbolise the tragic reality that the opposite is true for many Palestinian children.
Adorning Palestinian colours, the three skateboards are lined up like prison bars, statistics reflecting the plight of Palestinian child “prisoners”. The text on the stones, and pebbles surrounding them, highlight significant historical events. The genocide statistics bear witness to the reality behind the so called illegal act of stone throwing.
This includes the deliberate obliteration of Palestinian education – scholasticide – through:
the destruction of schools and universities;
the killing and detention of students and educators and;
the systemic denial of learning to entire generations.
It is noted in a Save the Children Report (November ‘24) that:
“Palestinian children in Gaza are growing up in a landscape of loss and destruction, carrying the scars of decades of dispossession and a genocide that has killed thousands of their peers. Their acts of defiance, born from trauma and a lack of hope, are a cry against a world that has abandoned them.”
PHOTOGRAPHS
These have been donated by: Activestills (activestills.org)
Activestills collective was established in 2005 by a group of documentary photographers out of a strong conviction that photography is a vehicle for social and political change. The collective views itself as part of the international and local struggle against all forms of oppression, racism and discrimination. It is composed of Israeli, Palestinian and international photographers, operating locally in Palestine/Israel and abroad.
A message of support from a member of Activestills:
Dear Christine,
We are all of us together in solidarity with Palestine, and trying our best.
It’s really great what you are doing.
Best of luck for the event!
Anne