This is the Erez Crossing a checkpoint between israel and the gaza strip. Close to 2000000 palestinians live on the other side of this spends. Theyve been launching isolated from the rest of the world for more than a decade. On. The lives of the people who live here are shaped by the un. Solve conflicts between israelis and palestinians. Maher winterizing is helping to preserve gazas history. This box contains photographs from the 1940 s. Through the 1970 s. They passed of a huge collection from the former care home photo studio which was later in the care of to us he and his family. This is a picture of anwar sadats when he was a young officer in gaza these photos were taken by a camera. And heres a picture of Mohamed Nasheed the 1st president of the arab republic of egypt. Are there to give this a shake of honor when he came to gaza in 1959 he was welcomed by the mayor and some other local dignitaries. Here shea meeting some egyptian officers who worked for the military administration. This is the train station or the railroad connected gaza and egypt station was later told down. From a once around the these photos i treasure trove of gazas history the negatives and prints reflect the culture and identity of the local residents. But only a few of the photographs have survived many were not properly stored and suffered significant damage from moisture some of the negatives will never developed. The date and location of the 1st graphs were not always recorded. The 1st graphs were taken by can show you how young he was born in armenia in 1915 his mother fled the Armenian Genocide and took her infant son with her to syria to how later settled in jerusalem and in the early 1940 s. Moved to gaza where he started working as a photographer. Tell you about cattle he started his photography studio of 947. Broken entrepreneur in 1900 many palestinians fled to gaza in the west bank. Had experienced his. Similar situation in armenia. Armenia. He considered garza his 2nd home and started taking pictures of various events including the war. The archive all of his photos so that future generations could see that. My want to ransey is trying to preserve this material because it provides a detailed account of gazas rich and turbulent history with displacement and loss looming large in peoples collective memory. Can and others took these dramatic pleasure crafts in 948. After the founding of the state of israel that same year the arab israeli war that followed almost immediately tens of thousands of palestinian sort refuge in gaza. Many were housed in refugee camps and 949 in United Nations agency was created to provide humanitarian aid and economic support for the refugees. Even today many refugees and their descendants still live in refugee camps like all shirty over the years they build houses and corrugated Metal Structures to replace their tents. Sharifs or han knows this area well. Hes a photographer and artist and spent many years working for the uns Palestinian Refugee relief agency. These children are pulled over 5th generation refugees many of the palestinians demand that they be allowed to return to their former homes in what is now israel and the west bank. I dont photograph and you throwing me. So what next cross are you guilty. Like many palestinian photographers who came before him sharif sohan believes that its important to put tre everyday life ahead of the stories that dont make the headlines. These crab fisherman congo far out to sea due to restrictions imposed by the israeli navy. Seal the liberation through my photographs are trying to portray the rich diversity of life and drugs photography and not of all that most people know about god there is war destruction and was a blockade of the occupation of. Methodology but there are other sides to the story what is life like on the street and at home. People hold very loved and go to work. I try to camp draw those aspects of life from our photos of them and im a live. In ancient times gaza was an important mediterranean port city it was part of the Ottoman Empire until the end of world war one the british mandate of the palestine including gaza lost it until 948. 00 gaza was then administered by egypt until 967 and subsequently occupied by israel following the 6 day war. A form of palestinian selfgovernment was created in 1904 with the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 2007 the radical Islamic Group hamas took over the gaza strip israel then stepped up its control of the gaza sea coast space and land brutes citing security concerns that. There have been 3 wars and several smaller conflicts in gaza over the last decades Palestinian Militants sometimes fire rockets at nearby israeli towns and cities israel responds with strikes. Palestinians continue to hope for the creation of their own independent state but those hopes are fading. The middle east Peace Process is currently store. The new generation of palestinian photographers document the ongoing conflict s. Possibly a way. But sharif sohan also believes that he and his colleagues have an obligation to record the history of his homeland through visual representation. Through the lens of his camera he presents his own perspective on the daily lives of gaza residents and how they see themselves. As stricken listed as on im so. I deem a lot of people enjoy looking around the world for the price that they go through family photo albums to find out how their parents or grandparents lived at a sugar high you are trying to squeeze both important and difficult and its not limited to photographers i feel thats it and that task is to document the lives of palestinians today and for the next 100 years. Probably a lot easier today than it was 30 years or 7 years ago see you know somebody so i said to. How we need to put together an archive for documents the daily lives of palestinians from the beginning of the 20th century had a little bit of color but how should we do that. How do we develop this conscious focus more commercial this archive 3 stores that have them with the goal is to help people learn about their history through photographs and not just by hearing stories about what i said as i can look at em. She reached her han is a cofounder of the artists collective called shabab beacon which means windows in arabic. It goes up. Because gaza is essentially cut off communication with the outside world is always an issue. Few people visit the strip and only a small number of gazans are able to travel by israel to the west bank or further afield. Has a link of in the name were on a colossal as a woman but we cant leave gaza to visit museums in london or paris or rome or anywhere else for the photo to be able to watch and we can even go to the west bank to see the works of other artists. Tell you Laura Ackerson a beacon on how willing to work at the shop to be color scheme good bringing the world to us every month or whenever we can we host events were promised in new york for an artist talk to us on skype. We want to promote the exchange of cultures ideas and expertise. That brought them bring all their palestinian artists. Belief those under the influence the leaders of a. Letter. Today my one to rozzi is visiting the Traditional Market district. Amr a look tar is one of the oldest commercial streets in gaza city. This is where kanji how yon opened his photo studio in the 1940 s. More winter as hes older brother maurice began working for him and learning the art of photography in the 1960 s. Know its a trip. To the water to go to. The. So. This is the im still sitting with. The me i was just going to show the muscle what do you need learn. To love about a bomb so lets move on get the ball down in the middle. Of stuff showed us the looking hole in the film a few. Thousands of kilometers under will the way from gaza. Graphic legacy is also being preserved in southwestern france. And he put time is the oldest daughter of the army and photographer on the heath was born and raised in costa. What good memories i have of its happiness he was very and my mother was very welcomed in gaza she did not know how to speak arabic but she spoke french and a little bit of english that many of the families that is a twit of what age she was 20 only they became very good fence together we were very beautiful i accepted him as mean yes. On the hebrew tongue grew up in gaza in the 1950 s. And sixtys when the area was under egypt in military Administration Later she studied in egypt she now have seen france with her husband. For. When she moved to france she brought along 1st the graphs of her family she left her other possessions behind in. These pictures of anna he taken by her father. I did go up stairs several times in fact to the dark and i would stand there with him. Now that we are talking there is the order of these chemicals that are there you know all this. Back it of chemicals its coming to me that i smell a feel the odd that i remember the. And i would sit there with him and i was always amazed seeing pictures appearing you know slowly slowly when after he had been printed and then put in the chemicals and the picture that starts to appear. They thought this studio was a busy place. Only a few people own their own cameras. Many portraits from those days have been preserved for posterity. Everybody went to have their portraits especially. The middle class and upper class and lower middle class they all went to her portrait everybody was photographed by my father that i think. Is that my father or my uncle or at least. The un relief and works agency for palestine refugees has its own Photo Archive in gaza. The photographs document the lives of refugees and their descendants over the last 70 years. Theres often a lot of detective work involved in archiving these photos he says thats particularly true of old if i says where theres little or no information on where they were taken all the people who put trade in them. The money. They used a different system for archiving it and we do know today. Families came to the studio the photographer took the pictures made a final for each family so he marked the negatives with everyones names and store them in a box because. I like a lot of ordinary negatives were filed without a date or any other information. So let us today photographers keep track of everything. Including the date and the place where the photo was taken. Thats not how they used to once. When i 1st found the archives everything was just tossed together. About this well actually for years the same system for black and white and colorful to us and we write down all the details on the name of the photographer of the year it was printed the copyright date and the credits. Copyright it just. To look at. You know. Together they look for clues as to the details provenance or. Was this for talkers or documentary and preserving palestinian history. For trying to preserve the world yes they are carved their workers are and they documented history at the same time i was i was very. Recently much of this was digitized since the early 1950 s. Un photog. If is have been documenting the lives of Palestinian Refugees and their descendants in lebanon syria jordan the west bank and gaza. Time and time again the lives of gaza residents have been impacted by International Events like the suez canal crisis in 1956 which led to war between egypt and israel. In 56 that was the war that israel stayed about 5 months until march from. November to march but i remember details of that period as well in fact. As we live on the main street we were sent the children all the mean is of that weather that mostly all that into the back of the house. They had houses. The Christian Church that. We were sent to because that was why the large wars. Gaza has lots of. Houses but my father did not come because he wanted to stay a tom and he kept picturing there that pictures of that i remember i dont have them. Picture a lot. Of the occupation of israel. The found these photographs of dead civilians in one of his boxes. Its not known when where the photos were taken by. Even before the 956. 00 war they were frequent clashes between israeli troops and palestinian militias along the border there were casualties on all sides including civilians. The war ended in november 1956. Afterwards the un sent peacekeeping troops to patrol both sides of the border between egypt and israel. They stayed there until the 6 day war broke out in june 19th 67. 57 when the United Nations came in for the protection of gaza thats was. A few neath. Became almost the fleas zone. For. Egypt egyptians came to buy from gaza what they did not have. So gus a florist enormously enormously in that period that you could feel you could see. And my father work became even more fraught icing because he was the agent for. Company. For everything that graph in the paper of the. Of the films or and he was the distribute for all the other photographers and by then many other young palestinians that were working with or either with or with coke or order with my father that they started their businesses as well and all over the best. During this time a number of high Profile International visitors travel to girls including shake of into 959 local newspapers reported that the communist revolution revisited the shotty refugee camp. Hollywood actor hugh bruno also visited gaza on behalf of the United Nations to call attention to the plight of refugees in the region. And in 1960 indian Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru arrived in gaza to visit indian troops who were part of the Un Peacekeeping force. Gazas landscape has changed considerably over the years. More winterize hes trying to document this transformation. This is the grace of mari mosque the oldest and largest structure of its kind in the gaza strip. The centuries old building was severely damaged in world war one and weve built in the 1920 s. But some buildings have fallen into disrepair. Like the former al nasr cinema. Most of gazas movie theaters were shut down in the late 1980 s. Often due to Political Considerations they were seen as having a liberal influence. A number of Historic Buildings that were no longer used have been torn down like the former train station. Here marwan is visiting the site of the railroad that once operated between gaza and egypt. For them was almost. Thought of almost. How it was one. Of the. Other the. Other ones among the largest of the. Last. Year were going to look at the money. And some fact that the days of train travel in gaza and long gone over the years restrictions on the movements of local residents have increased only specific groups of people such as those who are ill or are on business can apply for a permit to travel by israel but the application process as long and complicated. The rather Border Crossing between gaza and egypt has been frequently shut down in recent years usually due to political tensions. Those who want to travel to egypt have to get permits from the hamas authorities and the egyptian. When the family was shocked when i was going to believe that they might be a really good evening to live. In the family among the little boy you didnt belong to but listen. To them. Im in their home is a rap and music producer who collects old treasure graphs of god. He used some of these practices in a music video he made 3 centuries. And lots of people want to leave gaza says im on but hes decided to stay. Though i wouldnt have my from some of the great photos of gaza on the internet as well. They show that people in the gaza strip and elsewhere in palestine used to have freedom while the nation was. In the senate and this makes me want to write songs about the miserable conditions that we live in today and how people here used to live a fulfilling all i see is a map. Of the economy in gaza and palestine was throwing cricket all the silk over for they had trains and an airport employee but theres no airport in gaza today and the solution the whole above is just ridiculous is that back in the sixtys we had an airport in the gaza strip the invasion. But now in 2020 we dont. Know why she. Does. Over half of gazas residents under the age of 30 most of them have never been outside the territory. Im amir home he says come to see a friend hes also a musician theyre going to try out a new song. Were still. Looking for musicians. And lots of money youth unemployment is at 60 percent full time jobs and young people do odd jobs just to get by sometimes they families help out with money. And. We sure. Hope over the course says get me out of this cough and its not you who decides when i die i want to breathe the right now i feel like im buried its my right to experience life travel to laugh and to plan for the future and for high attrition but here in gaza i cant plan anything i dont know whats going to happen tomorrow well i still be alive how will there be a war i cant plan and i cant see the horizon. Well. There come as you would the would. You what they would hope her look was sick or less it wasnt going to console i live vote has a new 1000000 innovation. Because of. That it was good to know what was going to. Fall. To the to the cubans how the doctors that lived with the. Record in the early settlement some older folks have told us that they were happy back then mosul they say they used to travel from gaza to nazareth and other places and there were no restrictions it was a lovely and dick friend but now there are border posts and problems based on religion and politics. The whole situation has changed this year the kind of life that these older people enjoyed it just doesnt exist anymore. The finished a moment out of hell emotionally real and now i havent gone to the Border Crossing in a long time about 15 years and im 26 years old so i should have done some traveling by now spearing for the people im conscious of asking but i havent. Slept. Well. Im a mere ham is teaches a rap music oath at a local Breakdown School the project is called does the lives. Rap is not considered part of traditional arab music culture the artists distribute their music by the internet but have to get official permission to perform in public and the authorities usually dont grant says. Sarah has written a text about life in gaza. Zooming in on my knesset. Playing a new say. The last she said it was just a little ridiculous to see one of the sort of movies when she let me quote there were. Others they have speculated inside all knew who the sincerity is that means the f. L. A. C. Of them a clear message to fit what i say so i want to have the consumer call out of the many who say. The hostess who is a mistake to go do. What he says she will and wont do with. Letters a q. I dont is a has a high i have 2nd but only left in the us is a list that is the f. A. A. Of the thin message that if it was a felony high after the 1st see them fundamentally. In child abuse look at the. Births of. Those has a nice city but life here is hard and all the conflicts and so forth. And there is no future for me here spelling and. Mark winterize he is on his way to the church of saint porfirio as in the hans of gaza city. Christians have played an Important Role in the life of gaza for centuries same post ferias is one of the oldest active churches in gaza city and belongs to the Greek Orthodox community of which marwan is a member. Of. The an estimated 1000 christians live in gaza but that number is falling much like other youths in gaza many Young Christians are eager to leave the territory the. Mo one has now stopped by his sisters home for a visit. After. Their brother will race took over the photo business in the 1986 his studio became just as well known as its predecessor and from the. Whole family love to work in photography coleman we all learned from maurice scanned my sister really enjoyed photography work in the darkroom all day long that was her hobby she developed photos that were taken all over gaza. For only when i worked in the dark as a lot of young men werent allowed to guarantee the privacy of the people in the photographs and to shoot for so what i yet get was chicken on bennett. Business at many traditional pleasure studios has fallen off in recent years these days more and more people are taking pictures with digital cameras. The clothes they studio over a decade ago. A lot has changed since then. Almost part of some i put in office and all youre going to. Put in the circle in the field to snuff. Out is the. Gases population is growing rapidly about 1800000 people live in the small territory which between egypt israel and the mediterranean overcrowding has become a serious problem. Deceit and sure are possible causes saw. Local people love to come here and take a break its the only place they say where they can get away from the stress and problems of dating life. A hell of a good to have to Research Plan and chance to capture the mood of the sea usual in his photographs of the people here seem to be enjoying themselves as they would on any beach anywhere in the world. But. It. Sure. Does jackal she says waves everything to its provides the air we breathe and freedom and security its our future which is our blue horizon pushing. Up. And the paternal still has strong ties to gaza through her fond memories of the past and images of her father. She also remembers the friends she made when she lived there she still stays in touch with one of those friends. But i mean he put turn has not been to gaza for more than a decade because of the travel restrictions so the 2 friends talked by phone. This summoned them that look but by then. And. Then. The white house and. The. With the bed when. You meet with the between close to him sitting next to live as. We speak like we did now just anything she is telling me that seeing her daughter in canada has made their wonderful luba ok we try to live as if life is not my. She lives as if life is not mine and. How else can you live it can we keep crying all the time. And we do that. In spite of all the beautiful things i said about because old my. My joy. And my happiness and its true that it was a region that was constantly in the water constantly in changing changing city station situations and all. Yes it it it would be very good that somebody or something we put things together to keep the history at least the history that we know of. And the documents are there i mean the prints are there somewhere that would represent a part of history of. And you take the history and and moving history. The photos from gaza connects people from different places and from different generations. Like my one to reality with his treasure trove of photographs they all want to preserve this material for future generations. Their common goal is to keep alive the history of gaza and the cultural identity of its inhabitants. How they hear of us what burthen and their battles fear these negatives and prints are so important to me because this is our heritage and our civilization and had them all over we have left all of these photographs of the Everything Else was destroyed in the wars and conflicts miswire the on of these negatives and prints mean everything youre telling about clearly on the. Synchronisation in chinese childrens room. Paris should be checked in a. Little pursues online. By contrast High School Graduates to fight for personal freedom. Dont be denied for the. 3000. 90 minutes w. Didnt beethoven invent jazz did to do did do did the. Did is it was about a 16 month old might he be to. So many rubber bands of stolen beethoven. And of course the subconscious always one thing is clear platos just mildly popular. I see a sure i see a solid i feel sure. But how would the world sound without the biggest composer of all time i cant even begin to imagine a world class one player centralist on a musical journey of discovery. Without a top of. The fender 16th on to. Me. This is news wire from berlin the bellary see an Opposition Leader throws down the gauntlet im ready to lead the nation says opposition politicians. As she calls for new elections as more strikes get underway how long can i. Stand up to domestic and international pressure. Also coming up as an unprecedented pedophile case comes to trial here in germany. Who hopes his experience can help bring justice