PHOTOS: Denied services by Jerusalem, Palestinian residents form emergency response team

Activestills By Activestills December 24, 2013 | Edit

Photos & text: Yotam Ronen, Oren Ziv, Shiraz Grinbaum /Activestills.org

PHOTOS: Denied services by Jerusalem, Palestinian residents form emergency response team
A view of the Shuafat refugee camp covered with snow following a three-day storm, December 15, 2013. (Activestills.org)

Although it is hidden away from the view of most the city’s residents by a separation barrier, the Shuafat refugee camp is officially part of Jerusalem. Therefore, like every other neighborhood in Jerusalem, Shuafat’s residents (who pay municipal taxes) depend on the city for their infrastructure and sanitation services.

So what happens when the municipality simply ignores its own residents? They take matters into their own hands.

Three months ago, several young residents of Shuafat decided to take initiative and start an emergency response team (which they named “Taqam Taware’ Assalam,” or Emergency Peace Team) in order to fill in for the lacking infrastructural services. They began training in first aid and rescue skills and started to work together as a group.

Thus, when the biggest storm in years hit the region last weekend, the team quickly understood that they would be the ones to clear Shuafat’s roads of snow, as well as provide needy families with food and clean water.

PHOTOS: Denied services by Jerusalem, Palestinian residents form emergency response team
Garbage piles up near the separation wall in the snow-covered Shuafat refugee camp, East Jerusalem. (Activestills.org)
PHOTOS: Denied services by Jerusalem, Palestinian residents form emergency response team
A Palestinian youth walks past piles of garbage in Shuafat refugee camp, East Jerusalem, following an unprecedented three-days snow storm, December 15, 2013. (Activestills.org)
PHOTOS: Denied services by Jerusalem, Palestinian residents form emergency response team
Members of the Shuafat emergency response team, Baha Nababta and Ismail Khatib, December 15, 2013. (Activestills.org)
PHOTOS: Denied services by Jerusalem, Palestinian residents form emergency response team
Palestinians cross a checkpoint out of the Shuafat refugee camp, East Jerusalem. The area is covered by snow following a three-day storm December 15, 2013. (Activestills.org)
PHOTOS: Denied services by Jerusalem, Palestinian residents form emergency response team
The emergency response team in class, Shuafat refugee camp, December 10, 2013. (from the group’s Facebook page)
PHOTOS: Denied services by Jerusalem, Palestinian residents form emergency response team
The team uses a tractor from the camp to clear the roads from the snow, Shuafat refugee camp, December 16, 2013. (from the group’s Facebook page)
PHOTOS: Denied services by Jerusalem, Palestinian residents form emergency response team
Palestinians cross a checkpoint into the Shuafat refugee camp, East Jerusalem. The area is covered with snow following a three-day snow storm December 15, 2013. (Activestills.org)
PHOTOS: Denied services by Jerusalem, Palestinian residents form emergency response team
A bulldozer clears snow from the road near the separation wall outside the Shuafat refugee camp, East Jerusalem, December 15, 2013. (Activestills.org)

For more on Shuafat:
Jerusalem’s refugee camp: Abandoned by the state
 Shuafat refugee camp: Walled Jerusalem ghetto gets more walls

Activestills

Activestills is a collective of Israeli, Palestinian, and international photographers, united by a conviction that photography is a vehicle for political and social change. We believe in the power of images to shape public attitudes and to raise awareness on issues that are generally absent from public discourse. We view ourselves as part of the struggle against all forms of oppression, racism, and violations of the basic right to freedom. Our images are frequently published by many leading human rights, development, and advocacy agencies, as well as by alternative and leading news media. To stay updated on our latest images, like Activestills on Facebook or visit our Flickr photostream.

End of article module for Members

TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence.    We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies.   This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza.   We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.   Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

Make a Donation