‘Reality, Surreality & Solidarity’

• Reality is when things are based on a true story and cannot be denied.
• Surreality is when things are bizarre or dreamlike.
• Solidarity is about unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest and mutual support within a group.

The situation in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, is surreal. The reality of people’s lives is overshadowed by death, horror, and despair. Food, clean water, and medical supplies are exterminated, in an attempt of the Israeli government to kill more Palestinians with various means. The constant bombing by Israel with US arms, destroyed over 70% of the infrastructure of the Gaza Strip, leaving homes, schools, hospitals, and entire neighbourhoods in ruins. The constant sound of drones over the heads of Gazans day and night for 11 months, drives people crazy. The constant targeting and raiding of children, with the claim that they are Hamas Militants, is for sure a surreal daily lie. 

In Palestine, two generations grew up knowing nothing but occupation, where the very fabric of our society is torn apart by dehumanisation and oppression. This surreal reality is an ongoing trauma, where the past, the present, and the future are all overshadowed by the menace of Israeli occupation, and the unending struggle for our survival and dignity.

Thus, October 7th was not the beginning, it was the turning point that erupted from unbearable living conditions, a loud cry born from a long, unheard moan, a flip of a political table so that the world would react. 

In 2010, ASHTAR Theatre did the Gaza Monologues, after the first major assault on Gaza by Israel for 22 days. 33 ASHTAR students who were studying theatre at that period were asked to write their testimonies of what they lived during the war in 2008-2009. They wrote 33 monologues that were globally distributed and performed by more than 50 theatres. 

I’ve chosen an excerpt from the end of one of the monologues written by Yasmin Abu Amr who wrote:

‘At war I started to always dress in a very clean and tidy way, so that if I die I would die a nice death. But it would be the biggest problem if I was hit by a rocket, because I’d become 100 pieces and I’d like to die in one piece.

Oh! Gaza and Gaza’s dreams… Our dream has become to die a good death, and not to live a good life!’

After 2009, wars on besieged Gaza continued by the Israeli occupation and rhetorically happened every two years; in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 – that’s when we lost our theatre in Gaza – and in 2021. 

In 2014, ASHTAR asked the same students who wrote the monologues to write new ones. Mahmoud Balawi, was one of them wrote in the beginning of his monologue:

‘Every day we hear about Gaza in the news, not because our economy is booming, nor because we have one of the World’s Wonders, and certainly not because of our strong aviation industry. All countries have entered Guinness Records, and we did too. We have the top record of the longest war against civilians and the most intense cry of a mother moaning her children.  Time in Gaza is not like the rest of the World; the hour in Gaza is made of 60 martyrs and 3600 injured, and the minute is made of 60 destroyed houses while the second is 60 cries of moaning mothers.’

In November 2023, after the massive Israeli attacks on Gaza, we thought at ASHTAR Theatre that the best way is to contact our friends around the world and share the monologues with them so they would realise why October 7th had happened, and how Palestinians are suffering for the last 75 years. 62 countries answered our call, thousands of artists and activists presented the Gaza Monologues, reading, performing or publishing them. The idea was to create global solidarity and awareness about our people in Gaza. 

But instead of a ceasefire, the escalation reached the West Bank, and now more than ever the Israeli occupation is trying to destroy all the refugee camps and they are allowing their colonial settlers to rampage the West Bank. Israeli colonies continue to expand with the protection and support of the Israeli military. Checkpoints, walls, and military incursions disrupt our daily life, making even our simplest tasks, like going to work or school, a harrowing task. I myself spend 3 hours on a daily basis to travel 10 km to reach my work from Jerusalem to Ramallah, passing by two checkpoints and 5 colonial settlements in the West Bank. 

Another factor of surrealism is the fact that the UN and the international community are unable to change the reality even after the ICJ condemnation of Israel. Of course, this is based on geopolitical interests, the protection of international economic interests, and the Zionist powerful lobby in the US, Europe and the world.  Thereafter, despite the widespread awareness and documentation of the suffering in Gaza, meaningful change remains obscure; lots of talking and condemnations with no actions on the ground. This failure in the global political system underscores that power and interests often take priority over justice and human rights, which contributes to the ongoing surreal and tragic reality in Palestine.

On the other hand, mainstream media coverages adopt the Israeli narrative, regardless of the contrast between the surrealism and the reality on the ground. This leaves the international community paralyzed, watching our tragedy unfold with little effective intervention.

During the Holocaust, the lack of real-time documentation meant that the atrocities were not widely known until much later. The world learned about the horrors through survivors’ testimonies, photographs, and, eventually, through films and literature that brought the stories to the global audience.

Today, with the advent of live-streaming and instant communication, the world can witness events in real-time. Yet, despite this immediate access to information, there is a paradoxical de-sensitization and, in some cases, a disturbing transformation of these horrific events into a form of perverse entertainment. This is what makes the current situation in Palestine feel so surreal.

Surrealism here, is in the contrast between the immediacy of the information and the seeming lack of effective action. The fact that such documentation exists and yet the violence continues unceasingly, challenges our understanding of reality and morality. It is as if the world is watching a tragedy play out on a screen, disconnected from the human suffering it depicts. This surrealism is not just a distortion of reality; it is a reflection of a profound moral failure, where the tools of awareness are available, yet they are not leading to the change that is so desperately needed.

This made Ali Abu Yasin, my colleague at ASHTAR in Gaza, write his journal on the war with more than 30 monologues. I have chosen this excerpt from one of his monologues to share with you:

‘Could anyone tell us how much the price of our freedom is, so we will pay it and finish? Isn’t it enough for all this oppression and pain that lasted for more than 75 years to end? Or are we destined to remain unlike all peoples on this earth, swallowing oppression over and over again! Dreaming that this endless night will see a morning rise!!’

So how can active solidarity help someone like Ali?

Theatre of course plays a unique and potent role in our struggle for justice, serving as a powerful medium for storytelling, resistance, solidarity and dialogue.

So here’s what I call the 10 commandments of active solidarity.

1. Solidarity is a long term strategy 

• It is supposed to be an action not a re-action. 
• To create real change, we need to win the battle against dehumanisation, colonisation, imperialism and political surrealism.

2. Enhance cultural exchange:

• Bring Palestinian stories to life: allow vivid portrayals of our experiences, giving voice to Palestinian stories and artists on your stage.
• Work with playwrights and actors who can save the narrative from distortion. 
• Educate the public and challenge their stereotypes by raising awareness about the reality of Palestine, particularly the asymmetry of power and the misleading propaganda by the Israeli occupation.
• Twin with Palestinian theatres support them financially and artistically. 
• Bring students and artists over to your country and visit Palestine and volunteer in the different theatres. 

3. Create spaces for dialogue and reflection

• Book plays that enhance a space for dialogue and reflection, with the audience and the communities in your country. Such as ASHTAR’s play ‘Oranges and Stones’, a non-verbal play that unfolds the profound meaning of occupation. This play is touring the world now and it invites the audience for a real and thorough discussion about occupation. 
• Humanise the Palestinian struggle by breaking through political rhetoric and status-quo to reveal the personal and emotional dimensions of the struggle.

4. Empower Palestinian youth to overcome the continuous trauma

• Support programs that provide training for young people, to help them develop skills in acting, writing, and performing. These programs empower young participants to express themselves creatively and become active participants in society.
• Help theatre trainers in Gaza and the West Bank to reach more children with their psychological resilience intervention and trauma healing programs.  ASHTAR, like many other theatres and performing arts organisations in Palestine, runs a psychosocial intervention program in Gaza and in the West Bank and works with the UNRWA Schools, to help young people who are affected by the war on various levels.  Since 2009 we have conducted training at UNRWA schools, after every assault on Gaza. We were able to reach thousands of traumatised children with our theatre training, and we still do even during this genocidal war. 

5. Creative protest

• Present street theater in demonstrations – it can bring political issues into the public spaces, engage audiences who might not otherwise encounter these stories and raise their awareness in a creative and impactful way. 
• Use graffiti, poetry, and digital art to protest against the war and the occupation. 

6. Create pressure 

• Push your politicians and governments to reconsider their position and recognize a full sovereign State of Palestine.
• And demand your government to cease arms dealing with Israel.

7. Enhance networking

As Mandela said: 

‘We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.’

• Therefore, connect with different social justice movements, for this is not the Palestinians problem alone. We need to create a powerful coalition that is hard to ignore. Interconnectedness of oppression is real and must be tackled as such.

8. Challenge the biased media narratives

• Promote alternative perspectives. This can shift the conversation and make it harder for governments to justify inaction or complicity.

9. Support the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement through

• Economic pressure to force Israel to comply with international law and respect Palestinian rights. 
• Influence corporations to take ethical stances, by divesting from or ceasing operations in Israel and occupied Palestine. This can have a significant financial impact and send a powerful message about the global business community’s standpoint on human rights.
• Challenge the cultural complicity: stop the normalisation of occupation, call on artists, academics, and institutions to refuse to participate or collaborate in events that serve to whitewash and legitimise Israel’s policies.

10. Learn the lesson

• Keep the memory of this genocide alive. 
• Keep asking for a ceasefire
• Keep demanding for a Free Palestine.

To keep the hope alive, I would like to share again a short message from my colleague Ali Abu Yasin who wrote from his refuge at Deir Al Balah.

‘My fellow theatre people: writers, filmmakers, artists, singers, you are my big family. During this war, you were the ones who eased the unbearable moments for me. Every call, every word, every action, and every letter you wrote was my refuge for steadfastness and survival. I love you all and I love my theatre profession.’

Last but not least, I would say we are all in the same boat. Theatre has and will always be what makes us closer to our humanity, and what turns our Surreality into an engaged art that we are all proud of. 

Thank you.