The beginning of an Ongoing War, Al-Taghrebea Al- Falastneya show review

Al- Taghrebea Al- Falastneya or in english “Palestinian Dispora” is a Syrian show directed by Hatem Ali in 2004 reflecting the displacement of Palestinians in the start of Palestinian-Isreali conflict in 1948. The show follows the main character known as Abu- Saleh and his family, his parents, two brothers, sister, wife, and three kids. As the show starts we see their lives in their home where they, and the many generations before them lived, in village right outside of Haifa, Palestine.

It starts by showing their normal day to day challenges as lower class villagers but soon takes a twist in showing what happened to those in Palestine in 1948. The Isreali soldiers had started to murder men infront of their families and burn down houses of those they thought were a threat all over Palestine. The start of the Palestian occupation.

Soon Abu-Saleh and not only his family, but his whole village had to run away in search for safety while their homes were under attack. The long journey on foot for 3-4 days had led to many things that would impact

their lives forever. Many died on their journey to a safe place to live, and some were lost and not reunited for years.

Al- Taghrebea Al- Falastneya depicts the creation of the first refugee camp in Palestine and the events that caused it to happen, as well as the effects it had on the people. With great display on emotion following one specific family and the awful reality of many in Palestine in 1948. It sheds light on those impacted by the actions of Israel in 1948 and how they continue to impact people today. I have not seen any other art that can so accurately illustrate  it in such a way. It seems to be one of the few pieces of media that has the ability to be as raw and honest as possible, with no restrictions.

The use of film was powerful in its ability to display the things occuring in palestine and making it easier for the viewer to understand and feel what they went through. Although the filming was not the best because it is considerably old and may have not had the best production the emotion is raw and hard to stop watching. One of the shows major complications, is that there are no subtitles in English making this only accessible to those who speak Arabic. I would love for this to be translated not only for those who do speak Arabic and may not understand some of what is being said, but for all those who do not. I think it would be a great way to understand what was happening and makes for an accurate representation of what was going on.

I would highly recommend this show to those who are able to watch it. It is easily accessible on Youtube, and helps the average person gain knowledge on the ongoing issue of the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, and how it all began.