Palestinian clowns are everywhere
By Sam Bahour
Some Palestinians refuse to just sit still and accept their
fate as a permanently, militarily occupied people. One would think by now that
Palestinians would have received the message loud and clear – the world
couldn’t care less about their fate. But no, these Palestinians just refuse to
sit still. They continue to defy their reality and can be seen across the Holy
Land – jumping, climbing, swinging, falling, tripping, singing,
twirling, juggling, cycling, tight roping, and the like. Their nerve! To think
they can attempt to live a normal life when the powers that be are spending
billions, literally, to cause a collapse of Palestinian society.
And who is it exactly I speak of? Palestinian clowns. No,
I’m not taking a swing at the political leadership, at least not here. I’m
talking about the real thing: circus clowns, like in clowns that make you laugh
and make you forget that the boot of occupation is pressing on your neck.
I can understand your confusion. Clowns and circus do not
usually appear in the same sentence with Palestine.
You are probably much more attuned to how Palestinians have been labeled over
the years by some Israelis and their marionettes – everything from terrorists, crocodiles,
‘beasts walking on two legs,’ grasshoppers, cockroaches, slaves, ‘a community
of woodcutters and waiters,’ the ‘penniless population,’ ‘not worth a Jewish
fingernail,’ all the way to the most recent classification of being an ‘invented
people.’
As many are bent on dehumanizing Palestinians,
systematically and with contempt, others are mending the wounds of a people who
have been purposely stripped of their well-being in one of the world’s most
unjust chapters of history. One group tending to that process of mending the
deep wounds that 44 years of military occupation continue to inflict is the
Palestinian Circus School (PCS), based in Birzeit, Palestine.
Yes, you read correctly. There is a Palestinian
Circus School
in Palestine! However, as I have
learned while working closely with this professional team of circus artists,
this is not what we all think of when we first think of circus. There are no
elephants here, only Palestinian children engaged in a form of art and
expression that uses their body to tell a story which can make audiences laugh,
cry, or both.
Although the school recently moved from Ramallah to its
newly donated headquarters in Birzeit (thanks to Dr. Hanna Nasir), its
activities are spread across the West Bank, and Gaza
will be added as soon as possible. The School operates local circus clubs and gives
performances in various cities, villages and refugee camps.
The Palestinian Circus
School is a non-profit,
non-governmental organization established in 2006 and registered with the
Palestinian Authority since February 2007. You can read more and view some
videos of their work at: www.palcircus.ps.
My consulting firm, which mainly serves the private sector, was
commissioned by a unique donor, the Drosos Foundation,
to assist the Palestinian Circus
School in developing a five-year
business plan which we successfully completed. Drosos has a rock solid motto of
being ‘committed to enabling disadvantaged people to live a life of dignity.’ It
is rare I would choose to write about one of my work assignments; however, what
I witnessed over several months sparked an interest that I want to share. I
also want to appeal to you to support their efforts. Likewise, Palestine is
flooded with donor agencies, and most want to drive Palestinians’ development agenda,
so when I worked with a funding agency that was sincere about supporting
Palestinians by providing resources, but didn’t stand in the way of indigenous
planning, I felt this was one of those cases that is the exception and also deserves
to be shared.
Contemporary circus (or nouveau cirque as it was
originally known in French-speaking countries) is a genre of performing art
developed in the late 20th century, in which a story or theme is conveyed
through traditional circus skills. It may all look like a game to the untrained
eye, but this is serious business. At its heart, this style of circus is a
societal change agent. The Circus School
teaches young Palestinians the circus pedagogy to stimulate and develop their
physical, mental, artistic, emotional, social and cognitive abilities. The
circus then employs these skills in bringing smiles to the faces of children
throughout Palestine, especially in
marginalized areas.
If you spend any time in any part of Palestine, or even in
Palestinian refugee communities outside of Palestine, you will quickly notice
that the ultimate weight of this conflict is falling on the shoulders of our
youngsters—shoulders that should never have to carry the weight of a military
occupation! These young minds continue to be systematically damaged, but
society is not standing still.
The Palestinian Circus
School puts smiles on children’s
faces as well as using the platform of circus to link to a global circus arts
community. Circus schools and troupes worldwide are acting in solidarity with
Palestinians by exchanging trainers, performances and experiences. It’s serious
business with serious results. Maybe that’s why, last year, Israeli authorities
denied entry to Mr. Ivan Prado, the most famous clown in Spain,
who was coming to perform to Palestinian audiences.
Robert Sugarman, author of The Many Worlds of Circus,
described the impact of circus best when he wrote, “By turning you upside down,
we teach you to stand on your own two feet. By dropping objects we teach you to
catch them. By having you walk all over someone, we teach you to take care of
them. By having you clown around, we teach you to take yourself seriously.” The
children of Palestine have had
their lives turned upside down. Help us bring a smile to their faces and build
confidence in their futures to make their lives worth living.
So, as you prepare to bring in a new year, I appeal for your
generous support to the Palestinian Circus
School in any way you can. You will
not be disappointed. There are three places donations can be made:
- IndieGoGo Campaign to raise $25,000 to kick off
fundraising for erecting a movable training hanger, which will be located
adjacent to the newly donated headquarters. This new addition will house the
high circus equipment, which are now placed outside in the cold under the open
sky. This campaign just started and will run through February 20, 2012 at: http://igg.me/p/52303.
- Alternatively, donations to the Palestinian
Circus School
in the U.S. can
be made through The Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA is a
tax-exempt 501(c) 3 organization, so your gift is tax-deductible) www.mecaforpeace.org/partners/palestinian-circus-school.
- Of course, direct donations and/or student scholarships can
be made via the School’s website at home.palcircus.ps/en/1/1/3.
Happy Holidays.
- Sam Bahour is a Palestinian-American business
development consultant from Youngstown,
Ohio living in the
Palestinian City of Al-Bireh in the West Bank. He is co-author of HOMELAND: Oral Histories of Palestine and
Palestinians (1994) and may be reached at sbahour@gmail.com. Disclosure:
Sam’s firm, www.aim.ps, provides consulting services to PCS.
