 The Friends of the Jenin Freedom TheatreOur MissionThe Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theatre, Inc., was established in 2006 in New York to help support The Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank, Palestine. We provide financial and logistic support to The Freedom Theatre by:
Letter to the People of the Jenin Refugee CampWe would like to introduce ourselves. We are the Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theater, a group of individuals in the United States who have come together to support the excellent work of the Freedom Theater. Our members come from many walks of life and many religions; we are Christians, Muslims, and Jews, united in our efforts to do what we can to spread awareness about the Jenin Refugee Camp and act as a means for individuals and institutions in the United States to help rebuild and maintain the Freedom Theater.Our involvement with the Freedom Theater began in 2006, when we had a chance to meet Juliano Mer Khamis and hear him discuss his film “Arna’s Children.” We had all seen the film previously and had been deeply affected by it. All of us are veteran human rights activists and long-time supporters of the Palestinian people, but rarely have we been so moved. After meeting Juliano and hearing more about the efforts to rebuild the Theater, we decided to do our small part for this essential project. Each of us has been supporting the Palestinian people for years or even decades, but in all those years we had seldom been given the chance for involvement in such a wonderful endeavor. These past seven years have seen a growing outrage among supporters of Palestine in the United States and around the world, accompanied by an even greater amazement at the strength and courage of the Palestinian people. Such outrage and amazement has engendered a growing determination to do more in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their resistance to the Occupation and their insistence on leading normal lives under brutal conditions. As Juliano told us when we met him, the Freedom Theater is part of that resistance and determination. We therefore have been working to build a small but effective organization here to carry on various activities in support of your and Juliano’s work, including fundraising and awareness-building. We see our organization as more than a project, however—we see it as a relationship with the people of Jenin. Several of us have already visited the Jenin Refugee Camp; many of you have met them. Others will follow. As we continue with our work, we look forward to seeing this relationship grow and develop. We have each seen something special in the Freedom Theater and in the people of the Jenin Refugee camp, and we intend to maintain our relationship with you for many years to come. In solidarity, The Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theater Board of Directors
Advisers
Contact UsFriends of the Jenin Freedom TheatreP.O. Box 592, Tarrytown, New York 10591 Contact: Constancia Dinky Romilly Tel: 917 991 5653 Email: friends@thefreedomtheatre.org |
