Why the Caged Bird Sings

Refugee children address life under occupation in tee shirt contest

24 July 2007

Hebron – Ma'an – "Peace and freedom, or the lack thereof," was the theme of a tee shirt painting competition for children at a community center in Arroub refugee camp, near the West Bank city of Hebron Monday. "Lack" an event organizer explained, was the operative word.

One child painted a weeping eye, explaining, "The eye watches and weeps for the children of Palestine."

Organizer Heather Stroud, a writer and activist from the United Kingdom said the contest gave the children the opportunity to express their feelings about "the wider issues of life under occupation." Many of the children, she said, face "daily harassment" from Israeli soldiers when they take the bus to school in Hebron, and also experience the shock of "frequent" Israeli raids on the camp.

Images such as caged birds figured prominently. "For some," Stroud said, "the caged bird represented fathers or elder brothers in Israeli prisons."

Naji al-Ali's cartoon character Handala, who has represented the plight of Palestinian refugee children for decades, also appeared on a shirt. One child drew a map of the historical territory of Palestine with the black, white, and green stripes of the Palestinian national flag filling the shape.

Thirty-two children ranging in age from seven to ten participated in the contest. Each child had the opportunity to explain the significance of his or her shirt before those assembled.

The organic cotton tee shirts were donated by the Arja textile company in Beit Jala.