The Citadel: A Cultural and Educational Space in Beit Sahour
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To Be There is a Palestinian initiative that was launched by a collective of activists and educators who believe in the importance of helping people around the world to better understand the reality imposed on Palestinians by the State of Israel. The mission of this initiative has always revolved around the development and delivery of programmes that educate, inform, and raise awareness, contributing to the realisation of peace, justice, equality, freedom, and democracy in Palestine; To Be There works toward a society where law prevails in the interest of all its citizens living and previously living in historic Palestine, including refugees expelled from their homes in 1948.
Since 2013, we have reached out to people from different corners of the world, many of whom came as guests and went home as friends for life. The kind of experience and knowledge people received has helped them enrich the ever-expanding network of people in solidarity with Palestine who have a clear understanding of the complex forms of Israeli apartheid and the ongoing oppression that State of Israel continues to reproduce.
During the Covid-19 crisis, access to Palestine have become even more difficult. Israeli restrictions on access to Palestinian society already existed, but the travel restrictions because of health issues made this access nearly impossible. This new reality has called for different forms of adaptation, like providing updates and knowledge through webinars, podcast episodes, online activism, and virtual tours. This has helped keep us going while we continue to hope that one day we will be able to receive friends and new guests in Palestine again. While we can’t receive visitors, working with local partners, including farmers and landowners, continues to be a priority. As we are approaching the olive harvest season and the olive planting season, we are developing plans to depend completely on local human resources.
In 2019, To Be There started working on an exciting project: The Citadel. A building that was built between 1860 and 1865 as a school and a multipurpose hall, the citadel is one of the oldest 3 buildings in the town of Beit Sahour. To Be There’s idea was pretty simple: revive the original objectives and bring it back to an educational space and a multipurpose room. As an inspiring space, The Citadel was also supposed to be the center of all To Be There’s indoors activities as well as the different educational and cultural events.This project almost collapsed because of the Covid-19 crisis, but collapsing is just too easy.
During this ongoing crisis, we realized that such space could be very useful for the local community in several ways. One way we hope to make The Citadel useful for the local community is to create a space to exchange knowledge and inspirations for local intellectuals, musicians, artists, film makers, activists, and other cultural producers. The Citadel can be the place where such talents can be highlighted and celebrated during such stressful and depressing times. It can also be the space where all of us can be supportive and help each other by refusing to give up in the face of different forms of political, ethical, economic, and social corruption during this ongoing global health crisis.
Adapting to the new normal has given us the time to realize the importance of paying back to the community that has been hosting us for several years. The activities and events we are planning can be a way to return so much generosity we have received. The events are meant to feed the minds, spirit, and wellbeing of locals and visitors, virtually until we can host them again, through lectures on political, social and economic issues relevant to the community, yoga and meditation, music and art exhibitions, and more.
All activities will consider measures of physical and social distancing where we will adapt to hosting a maximum of 20 guests per event, and all the events and happenings in the space will be streamed live online for contributors, friends, and other individuals around the world.
To Be There continues to function with almost no financial income, which prevents us from preparing the space properly and making it functional to host a variety of events. The annual expenses related to using the building, as well as the renovation of the space, have been the major expenses, requiring nearly 15,000 euros to start up. To Be there has already covered 3,000 and needs help to finance the rest.
The necessary expenses to prepare and maintain The Citadel will include the following:
Annual expenses/rent for using the space
Covering monthly bills (water, electricity, internet, and phone) and other important expenditures for the costs of running
A screen, projector, and sound system for relevant films and lectures
Sealing the building to prevent further water leaks during winter
Building handmade furniture and other projects that require woodwork
Installing a small kitchen and a coffee corner to help generate income
12 Water tanks
Fixing the electricity and water networks
Other unexpected expenses incurred in preparation
In exchange for every generous donation, To Be There can organize an online lecture on past and present issues related to Palestine and the current ongoing Israeli apartheid. We also welcome any suggestions for giving back to our generous donors and paying forward their contributions.
Thank you in advance !