Exhibition: Witness | شاهد
In July 2024, the PHRC launched Witness | شاهد - Genocide through children’s eyes - an exhibition featuring drawings made by the children in the Children's Village in Gaza. So far, it has traveled to three major cities in Europe: The Hague, Amsterdam, and Berlin.
The artworks were created by children from the Gaza Strip where the PHRC offers drawing, painting, crafts and other creative workshops as outlets for children to process their experiences and emotions.
The exhibition bears witness to the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians through the eyes of those who are impacted the most: the children. Their drawings give insight into what they live through in Gaza as they are enduring forced displacement, fear and loss.
Showcasing the original drawings is a way of bringing the reality of the Palestinian children in Gaza closer to people outside.
“In these dark times, hope is the only thing that remains. We want our children to live holding on to hope. If we lose hope, we lose everything - and we can’t lose hope.”
We were moved by the many visitors who attended the exhibitions. These events showed the power of creating safe spaces for people to come together, show solidarity, and act, in times where such are limited and restricted.
There is a wide gap between those who care, and those who are influenced by structural racism and apathy. It is filled with those who remain silent, believe what the media disseminates, and refuse to take an active role to push for change in society.
With the events in Palestine being warped and censored in the West, reaching people in physical spaces is a real tool to create awareness about the devastating consequences of their governments' decisions. Creating a sense of the reality on the ground while allowing people to find community are key ideas of the exhibition.
Local Partners
Later this year, we will launch the Witness book, a collection of all the drawings, stories and testimonies collected from the Palestinian children from the Gaza Strip that we work with at the PHRC.
Support the project:
Transfer directly to our PHRC account:
St Palestine Humanitarian Response Center
BUNQ Bank
IBAN: NL75 BUNQ 2123 3700 37
BIC: BUNQNL2A
Address: Naritaweg 131-133, 1043BS Amsterdam, Netherlands