Pope Francis visiting Bethlehem

Today, 25th of May, Pope Francis came to Bethlehem for a religious visit. As anyone that visits Bethlehem knows, it is impossible to visit for religious purposes without also noticing the present political situation. He drove past the watchtower at the entrance to Bethlehem in his so-called ‘pope-mobile’ and was welcomed by the people of Aida refugee Camp. At the watchtower, the Pope surprised everyone by getting out of his vehicle, walking to the apartheid wall, and laying hands on the wall in prayer, just beneath numerous anti-occupation slogans that had been spray-painted on it.

The municipality of Bethlehem spent weeks preparing for the Pope’s visit by beautifying the streets and fixing up Nativity Square.  Some residents felt that this gave him a false image of the region, but they still had hope that he would see the reality and feel compelled to make a statement about it.

Story by : Kate Carlson, Mohammad Al-Azza  & Pernille Sørensen
Interview : Habshe Yossef, Mohammad Abu Srour & Mohammad Al-Azza
Voice by : Isra’ Abusrour

Palestinian Traditional Dresses

Embroidered dresses are an important part of Palestinian culture and history. Dating back to ancient history, women have been hand making beautiful dresses. Once an indicator of class and marital status, the dresses have now become a more symbolic costume to remember Palestinian culture and keep the tradition alive. In this piece, Sondos Nidal talks about this important handicraft and interviews her grandmother about the history of embroidered dresses.

Story by Sondos Nidal

Photo credit: Athal Al Azza

Dreams of Jerusalem

Since the beginning of the Intifada, Palestinians with West Bank or Gaza Identity Cards have needed to obtain permits from the Israeli Intelligence in order to enter Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine, has important prayer sites for Muslims, Christians, and Jews. In this clip, 15 year-old Rania Roomi, talks about dreams of one day being able to visit Jerusalem.

Story by Rania Roomi

Photo credit: Mohammad Alazza

 

How To Make Turkish Coffee

Here in Palestine, coffee is a MAJOR part of our life. We drink it first thing in the morning, second thing in the morning, after lunch, whenever people come to visit, at work during meetings, to resolve disputes, at weddings, at funerals…Yep, we pretty much drink it all the time. In Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, locals tend to drink a Turkish style of coffee made from a combination of brown and black beans and ground until extremely fine and soft.

When people from outside the Arab world come to visit us, they often develop a taste for this style of coffee but have difficulty making it themselves. We often get asked the same series of questions: how many spoons of coffee should I use? How long should I keep the coffee on the stove before it’s done? How do you keep it from overflowing and making a huge mess? Well now, thanks to Radio Lajee’s Layan Azzeh, all will be revealed in this cute, instructional video of hers. If you enjoy watching it and find it helpful, don’t forget to leave a comment for her below.

Happy coffee making!

A Glimpse of Ramadan

Here in Aida Camp and in fact most of the Arab world, Ramadan is a pivotal occasion which takes place for 30 days of every year. It’s the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and historically commemorates the period when the first verses of the holy Qu’ran were revealed.

On a surface level, Ramadan is about fasting so if you’re in good health, adult and Muslim, you should refrain from eating or drinking anything during the daylight hours. When the sun sets, Muslims break the fast generally alongside their entire family.

On a deeper level, Ramadan is a time for spiritual advancement, self-improvement, generosity, empathy and community.

Like any significant religious occasion, some people love it, while others dread it. One thing’s for sure though, Ramadan certainly means something different to everyone.

To give you a better understanding of what these 30 days are about, Radio Lajee’s Shoroq Asad prepared this slide-show. If you like it, don’t forget to leave a comment and share with others!

Beit Jala REPRESENTZ

Recently we posted an interview with UK-based Palestinian hip-hop artist, Shadia Mansour.

What made the piece particularly interesting was its exploration of hip-hop from a Palestinian cultural perspective. There’s a really mixed reaction here to Western or American styles of music – if you missed it and you’d like to learn more, you can catch the interview here.

Since then, we met a local 18 year old who not only is a massive fan of hip hop but a burgeoning artist himself.

Athal Azza got the details.

Photo: Mohammad Qassim

Suhaib Omar Mislat is 18 years old and lives in Beit Jala. His family are Palestinian refugees from Beit Natef village. When Suhaib was just 11 years old he started listening to hip hop and writing some rhymes.

“Hip hop is a great way to express yourself, and communicate the truth about what’s happening here in Palestine.” He explained.

“I’ve always loved the music – especially from the legendary 2Pac.”

Now, just seven years later, Radio Lajee has helped Suhaib AKA Black Shot’s Band For Change to record his first track.  We think it’s pretty awesome – let us know what you think!

A big thanks to Radio Lajee’s Layan Azza, Hesham Zakai and Asmah Abdul-Hamid for translating the lyrics into English (click ‘show transcript’ below to check them out for yourself.)

Click Here To Show Transcript

Shadia Mansour on the Importance of Palestinian Hip Hop

Shadia Mansour is a Palestinian artist who is based in the UK. Her medium is Hip Hop and she believes that it is the next crucial phase in Palestinian resistance. Here in the West Bank we have a mixed reaction to this genre of music – many people feel that it doesn’t reflect our culture.

Radio Lajee’s Hiba Al-Azraq caught up with Shadia while she was in Bethlehem on tour. She has been visiting the West Bank since she was a little girl, her family are originally from Haifa and Nazareth.

Click Here To Show Transcript

A Break From Politics

Recently, we received an email from a listener wanting to know what we do in Occupied Palestine in our ‘down time’.

Radio Lajee’s Shoroq Asad prepared this report about one particular event that is universally popular here.

When you take a listen, you’ll be able to tell immediately that Shoroq is one huge lover of verse – her script is pure poetry!

If you like the piece or have any questions, we would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below.

Script & Voice: Shoroq Asad

Field Recordings: Mohammad Waleed and Daz Chandler

Click Here To Show Transcript

A TRADITIONAL WEDDING by Sabreen Asad


A huge fan of weddings, Radio Lajee’s Sabreen Asad explores some of the unique Palestinian traditions that make these special days such memorable occasions. Featuring recordings of folkloric songs used to celebrate the many different rituals accompanying the union, Sabreen’s story is a must for romantics and lovers of music alike.

Click Here To Show Transcript

THE PALESTINIAN WOMAN by Linda Al Azzeh


To commemorate International Women’s Day, 19 year old Linda Al Azzeh interviews one of the West Bank’s most active women’s rights campaigners.

Click Here To Show Transcript