Tanya Habjouqa: Occupied Pleasures of Palestine

Tanya Habjouqa is a photojournalist, artist, educator and member of NOOR Images photo agency. She is trained in anthropology and journalism.

Palestine –  

Occupied Pleasures, from Gaza and across the Occupied Territories, was taken just last summer. It explored how the people I encountered utilized a love for life, perseverance, and sharp sense of humor to survive the daily indignities of a 47-year occupation. It is acutely painful to watch what is happening now. Every morning I awake in anxiety, sending out messages to see if my friends are alive. Many of them are out on the front lines, documenting the dead…one, a father whose daughter was born just two months before my son, is volunteering to drive as a paramedic under direct fire, as he cannot bear limply sitting and waiting to die and not helping. He and his family treated me as one of their own during my stay in Gaza, refusing to let me out of house without a full meal, worried as I was pregnant. Another friend, a fiercely brave journalist and self-professed feminist, welcomed the birth of twin cousins at the start of the assault, with a small celebration despite the present fear.

17OCCUPIED PLEASURES: West Bank: Teenage girls try on dresses for an upcoming dance in Ramallah.

Yesterday, the Israeli army killed nine members of her family, including one of the babies, rendering the twins one. The Islamic University (one of two main education institutions) where I spent much of my time with charming young ladies studying English literature, eager to practice their English and explain their dreams despite the seven-year siege that limited them, was struck two days ago by Israeli aircraft…now in complete ruins. There is now a humanitarian ceasefire on (we are not holding our breath it will hold long), which will allow the Palestinians to count their dead. Dig through the rubble. This is the third time they have done so since 2009. For now the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirms 1829 Palestinians killed, with 9450 wounded…. those rising numbers are showing no signs of abating.

 

 

Written and Photography by Tanya Habjouqa

Tanya Habjouqa’s series ‘Occupying Pleasures’ was curated by Manik Katyal in November 2013 for Warsaw Photo Days, Poland.

Related Posts

FotoBookFestival 2014: Photobook Dummy Award Announced

Germany –  Final jury for the FotoBookFestival 2014 Dummy Award were: Deanne Templeton, Cristina de Middel, Todd Hido, Carlos Spottorno, ...

Howrah High Jinx – Pablo Bartholomew

India – Photographs create a frame of the world and the photographers place within it, a personally composed fraction of ...

Sons in exile : Kashish Parpiani

India – The Von Ngari Monastery, Manali currently shelters 12 kids ranging from young eight year olds to adolescent 19 ...

Colin Pantall on Kevin Griffin’s Last Man Standing

Ireland –  Isolated islands off the Irish coast? There are a few that come to mind. Craggy Island is one ...

Bernard Faucon: Chambers of Gold, 1987-1989

France – In 1987, I went to Japan for the second time. I came back dizzy with the gold and ...

Ernesto Bazan : A Sicilian Revelation

Mexico – With an eclectic body of enriching, honest and deeply committed work, one can only admire the talent that ...

Asim Rafiqui : Bagram – The Other Guantanamo

Pakistan – They are ghosts, and I have spent nearly two months trying to find any evidence of them. They ...

Sanne De Wilde: The Dwarf Empire

China – 小人国 在中国云南、在昆明美丽的滇池湖边、在一片原始森林里,有一个由上百矮人族群组成的梦幻国度—它就是世界蝴蝶生态园·“小人国”。这里的小矮人们勤劳、善良、多才多艺、英勇无畏。他们拥有自己的国度,拥有自己的国王、自己的军队、外交部、御膳厨房和臣民 “In the Chinese province Yunnan, close to the beautiful Dianchi lake, exists a magic land in ...

Desapelo : Sofia Lopez Mañan

Argentina – I started shaving my head in June last year in an internal process of healing and letting go ...