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Obliterated Lives
April 14, 2017 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) presents:
Obliterated Families: The Shattered Lives of People in the Gaza Strip
Photos & Stories
Everyone welcome!
Friday, April 14
7:00-8:30pm
15 Rutherford Pl, Room 1 (1st room on left upon entry), NYC
An evening of stories and conversation about Gaza with photo journalist Anne Paq, a member of the ActiveStills Photo Collective, and journalist Ala-Qandil. Anne Paq and Ala Qandil are touring the U.S. to speak about their project “Obliterated Families.”
The Obliterated Families project started in the midst of the Israeli offensive of 2014. Anne and Ala were in Gaza documenting the results of the Israeli bombings—Anne Paq as a photographer and Ala Qandil as a reporter—when they realized that every day entire families were bombed in their homes, or while fleeing, and they could not keep count.
At the time, in the chaos and rush of the bombed houses, hospitals, morgues, and funerals, it was impossible to find out more than just a few basic details: names, number of people killed, location. After the ceasefire, when most reporters had already left, Anne and Ala returned to Gaza in order to build personal portraits of those who were killed and the survivors.
Numbers have often been used to describe the Israeli offensive on Gaza: 51 (days), 2,200 (dead Palestinians), 551 (children killed), 11,000 (injured), 100,000 (homeless), 0.5 million (displaced). But the statistics do not reflect the loss of a loved one, the bombing of a home, the fear or the trauma that comes after the ceasefire. They took one such statistic—142, the number of families who lost three or more members—and turned it into an intimate tale of sudden loss, pain, and life in the aftermath.
The Obliterated Families web documentary tells the story of these families. Anne also won the grand prize in the Editorial Documentary Category of the International Photographer of the Year Awards for the photos which are at the heart of the project.
On tour, Anne and Ala will talk about their experiences in Gaza, talk about these families and others impacted by Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the blockade, and will offer ideas of what can be done to bring change.
We hope that you can join us for this event.
Endorsed by JVP-NYC & Adalah-NY
Sponsored by AFSC & members of 15th St MM’s Worship Group at the Penington
For more information:
Chris Japely [email protected]
or
Mike Merryman-Lotze
Palestine-Israel Program Director
American Friends Service Committee
1501 Cherry st.
Philadelphia, PA 19102
215-241-7162