A trip to Palestine…
Alex Griffiths has just finished his MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and is now working freelance covering NGO work in the Middle East. After an enlightening trip to Palestine, Alex was keen to give his two cents on what Good means to him.
To me, good is doing something to help the people or the cause that you love. It’s about taking with both hands an opportunity, or creating one yourself and getting out there, whether it be going that extra mile in the office or hopping on a flight out of the country.
It’s to this end that I recently flew out to Palestine to help document some of the goings on out there. Taking pictures isn’t the most important thing in helping solve a conflict, if it’s even important at all, but it’s how I think I can help.
As I stood snapping away quite disconnected from the events around me, a Palestinian kid decided I was being a little too nonchalant and pushed me off my vantage point (or idiotically exposed position if you’re my mother) where I fell with characteristic grace upon my arse. As I sat nursing a newly bruised behind with a child of no more than seven looking at me like a Londoner surveys an overly enthusiastic tourist, I never felt better.
(Above) A young Palestinian boy in the village of Nilin begins a procession down to the Israeli separation barrier, the logo on his cap is that of a local mobile phone carrier. The photo on the banner behind is of a young man killed in previous protests, June 2011.
(Above) A Palestinian attempts to move upwind of a tear gas cannister fired over the wall by troops guarding a nearby Israeli settlement, village of Nilin, June 2011.
(Above) A young Israeli takes part in a Bar Mitzvah procession, a Jewish coming of age ceremony just outside the Wailing Wall, Old City of Jerusalem, May 2011.
An elderly Palestinian shopkeeper and his son in the Old City of Nablus ask for a photo of themselves and their store which sells very convincing fake designer watches, Nablus, May 2011.
- Alex Griffiths
Freelance writer & photographer