In collaboration with Al Rowat for Studies and Research and Hakaya Festival, and in the context of the "Speak Oh Bird" exhibition, Darat al Funun presents a storytelling performance on Palestinian displacement by Sally Shalabi (Shalabieh Al-Hakawatieh) and Hamza Aqrabawi accompanied by Serene Huleileh on the Ney and by Sahar Khalifeh Ishtewi’s singing.

This storytelling performance uses the oral narratives documented in “Living Memories” compiled and edited by Dr. Faiha Abdulhadi. It includes Mohammad Al-Qadi’s story, who was displaced from the village of Kawkaba, Gaza, and lived in Egypt until he passed away in 2015. Rasheedeh Feddielat was displaced from Iraq al-Manshiyeh, Gaza, and is now living in al-Baqa’a refugee camp, Jordan.

The story of Jafra, which was documented by Dr. Abdulhadi in 1998 as part of the “Pioneer Women’s Biographies Project”, regards Ruth Al-Jafra (Rafiqat Hamadah), who was displaced from Al Kweikat and lived in Lebanon until she passed away. She tells her story through stages of her life. She speaks of her personal struggles, of being married as a child, and of women’s activism in supporting rebels in the mountains. She also speaks of the British Mandate, her displacement in 1948 to Lebanon, and the struggles she faced in dystopia. Her strong personality shines through, with her perseverance despite the oppression.