{"id":1297,"date":"2012-04-01T12:45:10","date_gmt":"2012-04-01T09:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/?p=1297"},"modified":"2025-07-22T05:47:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T05:47:30","slug":"annual-report-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/2012\/04\/annual-report-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"Annual Report 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>OVERVIEW: A YEAR OF TRAGEDY AND RESILIENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The 2011 Annual Report from <em>The Freedom Theatre<\/em> (TFT) is an extraordinary document of cultural resistance under siege. It chronicles a year of profound loss\u2014the assassination of Juliano Mer Khamis, visionary co-founder and Artistic Director\u2014alongside the continuation of creative defiance through theatre, multimedia, and education in the heart of Jenin Refugee Camp.<\/p>\n<p>Despite intensified military harassment, arrests, and fear, the theatre\u2019s survival and expansion in 2011 stand as an act of radical continuity. The report frames cultural work not as a supplement to the Palestinian struggle, but as <em>integral<\/em> to it; what Juliano described as carrying \u201cthe cultural gun\u201d and joining, not healing, the resistance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>POLITICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL FRAMING: CULTURE AS RESISTANCE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The ideological anchor of the report is unmistakably political, with culture explicitly described as a form of <strong>resistance against Israeli apartheid, colonization, and occupation<\/strong>. This is not the language of neutrality or depoliticized humanitarianism. Juliano\u2019s bold statement \u201c<em>We are not social workers&#8230; We are freedom fighters<\/em>\u201d disavows Western philanthropic narratives and affirms TFT\u2019s role as a site of <strong>liberation praxis<\/strong>, not just artistic practice.<\/p>\n<p>This framing is sustained throughout:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The theatre is \u201cnot an alternative to resistance, just the opposite.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Artistic expression is \u201can integrated part\u201d of the Palestinian struggle.<\/li>\n<li>Projects are designed to empower marginalized groups, particularly women and youth, to reclaim narrative space and agency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The theatre does not shy from addressing <strong>gender oppression<\/strong> within Palestinian society either. It insists on <strong>inclusive liberation<\/strong>, increasing the participation of girls and women while working toward gender equity in representation, staffing, and programming.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JULIANO\u2019S LEGACY: PERSONAL LOSS, COLLECTIVE PROMISE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The emotional heart of the report is Juliano\u2019s legacy. His photograph and uncompromising quote at the opening set the ideological tone: uncompromising, radical, deeply personal. The staff statement reaffirms a <em>continuation, not closure; <\/em>&#8220;Juliano\u2019s children are going to stay&#8221; reads one tribute, highlighting how his former students embody the revolutionary legacy.<\/p>\n<p>This sense of <em>intergenerational cultural struggle<\/em> is central. Arna, Juliano, and the new generation of artists are positioned in a shared lineage of cultural defiance. Juliano\u2019s murder is mourned not just personally but politically, his assassination is framed as an attack on the revolutionary spirit of the theatre itself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>KEY PROGRAMS AND ACHIEVEMENTS (2011)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In spite of unimaginable obstacles, the report documents significant achievements:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong> Theatre and Acting School<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>33 performances<\/strong>, including <em>Alice in Wonderland<\/em>, <em>Sho Kman<\/em>, and <em>While Waiting<\/em> (Beckett-inspired), with over <strong>12,000 audience members<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>TFT&#8217;s <strong>first cohort of Acting School graduates<\/strong>, several of whom became trainers or joined staff.<\/li>\n<li><strong>International tours<\/strong> in Europe and the U.S. widened visibility and built networks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong> Community Outreach<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Playback Theatre<\/em>, <em>Drama for Conflict Transformation<\/em>, and <em>Trauma Response<\/em> sessions drew 80 participants.<\/li>\n<li>Psychodrama and drama therapy were introduced to social workers and mental health professionals.<\/li>\n<li><em>Drama with female prisoners<\/em> marked a bold step into underrepresented narratives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong> Multimedia Programme<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Courses in <strong>filmmaking<\/strong>, <strong>photography<\/strong>, and <strong>creative writing<\/strong> enabled youth, especially young women, to articulate their lives through visual and narrative language.<\/li>\n<li>The publication of <em>Captured<\/em>, a photography book, highlighted the power of image in Palestinian storytelling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong> Dabke and Cultural Heritage<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Dance was reimagined as both tradition and expression, blending folklore with drama to reclaim Palestinian cultural space.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>CRITICAL VOICES: TESTIMONIALS AND PLAYBACK THEATRE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The inclusion of <strong>first-person reflections<\/strong> and excerpts from playback performances (e.g., Loai Tafesh&#8217;s story of psychological torture and false family death claims) reveals the <em>emotional, social, and political stakes<\/em> of the work.<\/p>\n<p>These testimonies:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Serve as <strong>archives of trauma and resistance<\/strong>, told by those living under occupation.<\/li>\n<li>Reaffirm the belief that <strong>telling the story is a non-negotiable element of human dignity<\/strong>, echoing Ben Rivers&#8217; reflections.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Playback Theatre moment described in <em>\u201cMidnight Raid\u201d<\/em> is not mere performance; it\u2019s political witnessing and communal healing, a ritual of reclamation in the face of erasure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE, AND SUPPORT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>TFT demonstrates remarkable <strong>organizational resilience<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Expanded partnerships locally (with Palestinian institutions) and internationally (e.g., Yale, UNESCO, SIDA).<\/li>\n<li>Over <strong>5000 guests and delegations<\/strong> visited in 2011; parliamentarians, artists, students\u2014making TFT a hub of global solidarity.<\/li>\n<li>A diverse staff and volunteer body supported a wide portfolio of activities across theatre, education, and multimedia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The report lists <strong>Friends associations<\/strong> in five countries and names prominent <strong>Board and Honorary Board members<\/strong> (e.g., Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky), reflecting international endorsement and ideological alignment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LOOKING AHEAD: 2012 AND BEYOND<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Future projects aim to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Launch the <em>Freedom Bus<\/em>, linking theatre to oral history and site-specific resistance.<\/li>\n<li>Expand <em>Street Theatre<\/em> across West Bank cities and into Europe.<\/li>\n<li>Introduce <strong>stand-up comedy<\/strong>, increasing creative modalities.<\/li>\n<li>Relaunch the <em>Voices<\/em> youth magazine and establish a local news bulletin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These initiatives show a shift from survival to <strong>strategic growth<\/strong>, with performance, pedagogy, and production expanding beyond the walls of the theatre.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CONCLUSION: THE REVOLUTION MUST GO ON<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The 2011 Annual Report is not just documentation, it is a <strong>manifesto of cultural resistance<\/strong>. It affirms that <em>The Freedom Theatre<\/em> is not simply a theatre in a refugee camp; it is a cultural front in a national liberation movement. The loss of Juliano is not the end, it is a tragic turning point that renews commitment.<\/p>\n<p>As the closing line insists:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>\u201cThe Revolution must go on.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 550px; text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/issuu.com\/freedomtheatrejenin\/docs\/annual_final__print?mode=window&amp;backgroundColor=%23222222\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Open publication<\/a> &#8211; Free <a href=\"http:\/\/issuu.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">publishing<\/a> &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/issuu.com\/search?q=cultural\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">More cultural<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OVERVIEW: A YEAR OF TRAGEDY AND RESILIENCE The 2011 Annual Report from The Freedom Theatre (TFT) is an extraordinary document of cultural resistance under siege. It chronicles a year of profound loss\u2014the assassination of Juliano Mer Khamis, visionary co-founder and Artistic Director\u2014alongside the continuation of creative defiance through theatre, multimedia, and education in the heart [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-annual-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1297"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57165,"href":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297\/revisions\/57165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefreedomtheatre.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}