PALESTINE FILM FESTIVAL

SOAS, Khalili Lecture Theatre

PALESTINIAN REFUGEES AFTER THE IRAQ WAR: SCREEN TALK
Palestine in the South | Ana Maria Hurtado | 52' | 2011 UK Premiere
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Displaced Lives | João Marcelo Gomes | 14' | 2010
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Talk by Abbas Shiblak on the impact of the Iraq war on Palestinian refugees

These were a pair of fascinating films about the recent migrations of Palestinians to Chile, echoing earlier migrations from Palestine during the British colonial era. It appears that a whole Palestinian community exists in Chile, which continues to identify itself as Palestinian and which has known family histories dating back up to 100 years. Imagine my surprise to see flashed up on screen a group photo of migrants to Chile from Beit Jala, a small village on the outskirts of Jerusalem in which my last known relatives in Palestine lived and died, and where my father and mother went regularly as children. Hurtado's film traced the recent migration of Palestinian refugees from Iraq, who suffered terribly from recrimination and reprisals following the fall of Saddam Hussein and fled to camps in the desert, to Chile. This was as part of the UN arranged refugee programme allowing tiny numbers of Palestinians from Iraq to travel to often far-flung destinations to try and make new lives for themselves yet again. It raised a number of issues about integration and the desperate attempt to preserve identity and culture. The main protagonist, a baker, strove hard to earn a living for his growing family, became more politically active and potentially reactionary, and moved me tremendously when describing how no opportunity to see his father before he died had arisen.

But it was perhaps Gomes' shorter film that contained the most memorable moment, describing how recent Palestinian refugees in Chile only had identity cards which did not allow them to return, with the consequence that they could not travel out of Chile to see their families anywhere else in the world. The utility of skype takes on a new meaning in such circumstances. As Shiblak suggested after the films, the securing of a passport is itself an achievement for Palestinians, who just want to live normal lives like other people. Shiblak was knowledgeable and informative on refugee matters, but the questions he faced were extraordinary in their ignorance, dullardliness and insensitivity. Note to self: avoid staying on for audience questions in future!