By Ophelia Otto | Resource Development
Recently we at The Freedom Theatre have been very busy with a number of exciting things - while our third year students graduated and are now spreading their wings, we are also very happy to share with you that we have welcomed a new class of 11 students to our theatre school!
One of the first highlights of the Freedom Ride was our graduates' final performance as students on our stage – under the headline “The Commands” each of our promising talents performed a scene written and conceptualized on their own. Our Freedom Riders were in love with people and culture even before we boarded the bus to set out on what can only be described as an epic journey. We strongly believe everyone should join this ride at least once in their life!
On a scenic route through the Jordan Valley the group was so taken by the beauty of the landscape that it was easy to forget that we were indeed moving through an area claimed by the occupation forces for military exercises. A number of stops were made to meet local Bedouins who are forced to live in caves and structures made of tin and wood and listen to their accounts of resistance and suffering but also hope – and last but not least to conduct briefings similar to a crash course in how to deal with soldiers of the occupation forces in case of encounters.
And before long we got the chance to apply that newly gained wisdom: we were stopped by a group of Israeli soldiers on the grounds that this was a closed military firing zone. It made us realize how different and complicated the reality is that Palestinians are forced to deal with in order to literally hold their ground.
Improving a school building with a new concrete floor in a small Bedouin village (while againbeing stopped by the Israeli army), attending the weekly Friday demonstration in Nabi Saleh and braving the fogs of teargas, witnessing an entire olive tree grove be destroyed by Israeli settlers and occupation forces, an abundance of interactive theatre and storytelling events - that and many other adventures followed.
See our daily updated Freedom Bus blog diary to find out more about what happened during this year's Freedom Ride!
After two weeks the Freedom Ride had turned into a Freedom Family and parting ways was emotional, contact details were exchanged and pacts of future meetings sealed!
It is safe to say that this has been an experience that moved people closer, internationals and locals alike. No one will forget the Freedom Ride 2014 and even now, nearly two months later, we are proud to point out that the communication within the Freedom Family is well alive and kicking!
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