Monday, 16 December 2019, 4-7 pm

Workshop: Visions from the River to the Sea and beyond

Lecture/Report from Ahmed Abu Artema on the Great March of Return and the situation in Gaza.

Workshop - Reflections on the right of return: What does this mean (to each of us)? What happens when the right of return becomes reality? What opportunities/potential does the right of return bring with it for those already living between the river and the sea, and beyond?

The workshop is in English and open to anyone, please register by sending an email to kunsthalle@kh-berlin.de as the space is limited. 

The Right of Return 194 is a United Nation resolution on Palestinians expelled from historical Palestine in 1948: "The United Nations General Assembly adopts resolution 194 (III), resolving that refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.”
This resolution is one starting point for negotiations on nonnegotiable equality from the river to the sea.

The Gaza Strip – an area of only 365 km² where nearly two million Palestinians live, estimated in 2016 to be the world’s most densely populated area with 5154 people per km². For more than ten years, the Gaza Strip has been under a blockade and cut off from the outside world both on land and at sea. Not only are the people living there barred from leaving, but also are basic necessities prevented from being brought in - medicine, raw materials/commodities and construction materials, all of which would be, after three devastating wars in only six years, urgently needed for reconstruction. The United Nations consider the Gaza Strip uninhabitable.

Ahmed Abu Artema

Ahmed Abu Artema is a third generation refugee who was born in the Gaza Strip. He is a peace activist and journalist, and one of the organizers of the Great Return March. He has been published in numerable newspapers and magazines. His texts can be read in English in several U.S. American publications such as The New York Times and the Nation. In 2018, he was featured in a documentary film by Karim Shah produced by Al Jazeera news network, “Gaza: Between Fire and Sea.” He also authored a book in Arabic called “Organized Chaos” and contributed to several documentaries, including the Al Jazeera film “Which Rafah Are You From?” about the tragic separation of Rafah following the Camp David Accords and its impact of displacing thousands of families. Ahmed lives with his wife and four children in Gaza.