About Ibdaa's Oral History Project

The Oral History Project is a means of collecting and recording individual and personal stories about pre-1948 Palestine, the lives of Palestinian refugees, and the history of Dheisheh refugee camp. Told by the people that experienced this history themselves, the Oral History Project preserves primary sources about the history of Palestine that will spread awareness to successive generations of Palestinian and refugee children while simultaneously educating the international community.

Stories and histories are collected by Ibdaa youth who interview family members and when possible, visit the site of their families’ original homes and land. The youth research their families’ village life prior to 1948, how their families came to Dheisheh camp in 1948, what the situation was like in the camp in the early years, how things have changed since 1967, and what their families envision for the future.

Over the years, we have been continually surprised and amazed at the ability of our young people to use their words, their movements and their artwork to affect audiences across the world, from Jordan to the United States to Sweden. But thus far our youth have only been able to reach individuals or groups who have visited our camp or who have come to see our performances when the youth dance troupe travels abroad. We are working to create more opportunities for our youth to tell their stories to a wider audience.

One such way that we are trying to reach a larger audience is through combining the Oral History Project and the Media Training project so that our children can produce audio and video accounts of Palestinian oral history to share with our community here in Dheisheh and with audiences worldwide. In addition to the interviews and village visits, the youth also add their own narratives of growing up in a refugee camp and how they felt visiting the destroyed villages or towns from which their grandparents fled in 1948.

We are confident that the pieces our youth produce will have a strong impact on the international community and will further the cause of justice and human rights.