Article74 Magazine
| Update: Campaign for the Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights & Development Activities The Campaign for the Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights & Development was launched by the Union of Youth Activities Centres and BADIL in 1997 due to the need for continuity and ongoing work on behalf of Palestinian refugee rights. The Campaign is based on the principle that refugee rights cannot be achieved without the active involvement of the refugee community in Palestine and in the diaspora. It is also based on the principle that an ongoing program for the defense of refugee rights must serve the immediate and long term needs and interests of the refugee community. The Campaign’s 1998 program was designed to meet these principles: Oral History Program This program, designed in 1997 and launched in 1998, will constitute the backbone of the Campaign for the Defense of Palestinian Refugee Rights in the months (and years) to come. Teams of interviewers from all refugee camps will record oral history accounts of the generation of 1948 still alive, remembering the social customs of this period, events, and circumstances of al-Nakba. Recorded materials and photographs will be collected in what will be the first refugee archives owned by the refugee community. Both interviewing and archive construction will be under the responsibility of the UYAC and supervised by the Campaign. Training of the interviewer teams was completed by the end of April and on 8 May the participating teams were registered with the UYAC. By mid-May, distribution of equipment (recorders, cameras) and selection of cases was started, so that the teams will be ready to start field work. Interviewing will proceed over a period of several months and will be accompanied by monthly regional evaluation meetings between the teams and experts. As both the Camp Activation Program and the Oral History tory Program are under implementation in the West Bank, the Campaign seeks to improve coordination with the Youth Centers in the Gaza Strip (which recently joined the Union and have started implementation of a similar program in Gaza) and with the Palestinian refugee community in Lebanon. “Right of Return” This program aims to raise the level of activity and involvement of refugees in advocating for their rights, in improving their own environment and encourages Youth Centres in the refugee camps to take organizational responsibilities. The 1998 active calendar includes so far: 3.April: Palestinian Children’s Festival by the Youth Centres of Nub Shams RCA and Tulkarem RC for the Tulkarem District: one week of song contests, Dabka dancing and theatre rehearsals preceded the final presentation on 3 April 1998. Activities Planned (preliminary schedule): For details and confirmation of events, please contact: UYAC, Kalandia Camp |
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