Through Others' Eyes

This program of the Arts Center has been running for the past five years. The program takes teens (10 Arab, 10 Jewish) from high schools in the Wadi Ara region near Givat Haviva to teach them all the technical aspects of the camera, in order for them to use photography as a way of seeing the “other side.” The students, who are selected for the project based on interviews and teachers' recommendations, study photography for three months before taking their cameras into the homes of other students in the group. In each other’s homes they can explore every room, look in the closets, in the fridge – the entire house will be opened for the students. They can take pictures of the family eating dinner, having arguments, and watching TV – anything and everything that would demonstrate the character of the family and their life. This project aims to have the students “know each other through the camera; to look but more to understand.” The students meet for one year, three hours a week. At the end of the year there is an exhibition of the students' work enabling the project’s results to be a public demonstration of coexistence. The exhibition gives the project the added value of a tangible result that the students can be proud of.

The program’s aim is coexistence, but it does not press the issue until well after the photography sessions begin. It is important that the students get to know each other; they need to have some sort of emotional investment in the group before they begin to talk about the conflict. The facilitators (one Arab, one Jew) make it clear to the students that they will be discussing the conflict in depth later on in the program. Etti Amram, Director of the Arts Center, says that this is important to the project because the students need to form a group; they need to become friends and learn to trust one another, before they can talk together about the conflict. The students take this measure very 

seriously; when the parents come to the Arts Center they often try to talk about the conflict, but the students won’t let them, telling their parents “No. We don’t talk about these things yet.” The project uses art as a bridge between people. Photo time turns the group of students into friends. Once this has been achieved, then talk of the conflict can begin. The official language of the program is Hebrew; however there is no restriction on what language the students choose to speak. And the students know that if they choose to speak in Arabic, the facilitators will translate everything they say. This measure is enforced in order to eliminate trust issues between the students; everything that everyone says is out in the open.

Etti says that, “The name of the project 'Through Others' Eyes' has a few different meanings. The first is when the students are behind the camera and they see life through the lens. The camera and the project allow them access to each others' homes in order to see how others live, and then ultimately they will see their own life through the eyes and photographs of others.” The group consists of 20 kids, boys and girls, 10 Jews and 10 Arabs. The program intends for the students to take their work very seriously, so there are strict rules about participation in the group. The students must be at the meetings every week; this is something that must be agreed to by the student and the parents, the parents also agreeing to provide support for the students in the program. The students must demonstrate a desire to learn photography as well as show their commitment to the coexistence aspect of the project. Another requirement is that the student must be from the Wadi Ara region, as the students need to be at Givat Haviva for the sessions each week.

In the first year of the program Etti had some problems recruiting students due to the Intifada. She had problems convincing parents that their children would be safe, and many of the Arab parents took the time to convince the Jewish parents that they would take full responsibility for their children’s safety while they were in the Arab homes. Eventually Etti was able to put together a group of 20 kids in the first year. At one point Etti was afraid that the project would be derailed, as just before the project was to begin there was a bus bombing just 500 meters from Givat Haviva. Etti was sure that no one would show up for the project, but in fact everyone came and the project was quite a success.

The students often ask to have follow-up visits, a scheduled meeting of the group with another project or another chance to talk about the conflict; however there is not often the opportunity or the funds to manage such visits. After the program they are in their last year of high school and very busy with exams and they do not all study in the same schools, so arranging a visit is very difficult. Some graduates have become volunteers in other Givat Haviva projects, such as summer camp activities with children.

At the same time, there has been one addition to Through Others' Eyes that Etti is very proud of and considers to be very important. This year a group of 20 women, 10 Arab and 10 Jewish, took part in their own program of Through Others' Eyes. Again it was a yearlong program with women from Umm El-Fahm and Ma’anit. In this program there is no restriction on what is discussed and when; the group decides for themselves if they want to breach difficult topics right away, and the facilitators aid the women in discussing many issues beyond the conflict. Etti feels this venue for discussion is very important, especially for the Arab women who may not otherwise be able to discuss such topics. There is no need to put the women into groups to encourage friendships; the friendships are made on their own. Because of the topics that are discussed the women are asked to dig deeper in their photography, to be more abstract. When they visit each other’s homes, rather than take photos of the contents of the fridge, they were asked to photograph feelings. The program is still running and the exhibition from this group will be held in September.