Sleepless in Gaza... and Jerusalem

by Abdallah Schleifer, for Radiant Circle Productions and PINA

(Editor's note: althought I am not aware that any of the women in this series are
Sufis, at least a small percentage of the production team has Sufi affiliations.)

Last Monday, the first of March, day one of a 90 part series, "Sleepless in Gaza...and Jerusalem" was launched on YouTube. “Sleeepless…” is a video diary about four young Palestinian women, Muslim and Christian, two living in Gaza and two in Arab Jerusalem/West Bank

PINA TV Production camera crews are covering Ashira Ramadan, a broadcast journalist based in Jerusalem; Ashira's friend in Gaza, the documentary film maker Nagham Mohanna; Donna Maria Mattas, a 17 year-old student at the Holy Family School in Gaza who dreams of growing up to be a journalist, and Ala' Khayo Mkari who works with Caritas in Jerusalem.
.
The intention of this series is neither rant nor rhetoric. It is rather an opportunity for all of us, who do not live in Gaza, occupied Arab Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, to grasp how these four young Palestinian women live out their daily lives, precisely because their lives are stories we journalists were taught almost dismissively to think of as "human interest" and almost necessarily conflict driven. How, as human beings, these four Palestinians can also experience moments of personal and community achievement, and the warmth of friends and family life that in real life is possible even in the most difficult circumstances of siege and occupation.

Each daily episode runs 26 minutes and is being shot in Jerusalem/West Bank and Gaza, edited and uploaded the same day, in the very late hours of the day in Ramallah,. So you will find a new episode six days a week at www.youtube.com/SleeplessinGaza. On Friday, we all rest. . unless there is an extraordinary event that one or more of our four Palestinians must deal with,

We havet set up "Sleepless in Gaza...and Jerusalem" on Facebook. It's got such a long URL that Facebookers should note-- just type in “Sleepless in Gaza...and Jerusalem” in the Facebook search and you will be home or go here. We don't have our own domain website yet, but our partners PINA TV Productions' website will serve as such for the time being at www.pina.ps. We will announce the new domain website on both YouTube and Facebook.

This is a personal note as much as it is a press release, so it is going out on my email but after today you can reach us at SleeplessinGaza@gmail.com or our press officer with PINA in Ramallah, samar.stephan@hotmail.com

Please pass this letter on to your friends on email and to organizations that believe in peace on earth and good will to all, that they too might spread the word.