Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 136

One summer I directed theatre workshops involving villagers from Atuwani,
a small Palestinian village in the South Hebron Hills in the West Bank. My
intention was to gather stories. Every day, the villagers are attackedby the
inhabitants of the nearby illegal Israeli settlement. Their movements are
also restricted due to Israeli military checkpoints and roadblocks. Settlers
attack Palestinian shepherds, farmers, and even children walking to and from
school. The villagers, however, resist these attacks using non-violent tactics.
Atuwani, the play I directed, was inspired by a storyone of the children told
me. The child said, that in their excitement for an annual summer camp,
the villagers decided to collect old tires, paint them in the colours of the
Palestinian flag, and arrange them on the side of one of the hills. Everyone
had joined in, assembling the structure that was big enough to be visible
from the village.
But the tires could also be seen from the settlement. One of the settlers had
come down and stole one of the tires.The children were angry and upset by
the settler’ action and organized a demonstration on the hill. They marched
up and down with placards, chanting: “We want our tires! We want our
tires!” Eventually, the settler got annoyed and decided to give the children a
tire. But this was a different tire, and the children wanted the original ones.
The demonstrations continued. This time, the children were joined by other
people from the village. Eventually, the settler returned the very tires he had
stolen. The children rejoiced. Everyone cheered their victory.
The children of Atuwani used their creative and artistic skills to overcome
anger, anxiety, and the cycle of blame. Instead of asking, Why us?, the children
asked, Why them? Why are they doing this? By avoiding blaming themselves,
by resisting anger and anxiety, they responded more constructively to what
happened. Audiences were amazed by this message in Al-Tuwanias we toured
the West Bank.Theyfelt empowered, overjoyed, and left the performances
with a sense of victory. They were also left to ask themselves: What is my tire?
What am I going to do to get it?
Even though Atuwani is about just one tire, the story itself represents a
victory for Palestinians against the system thatharasses them daily. No matter
where they live in the West Bank, audiences see their own anger, anxiety and
blame reflected in the children’s story. They also see how these things can
be transformed into a more fruitful action, and how a new life can be won.
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