To be a Palestinian living in besieged Gaza since birth limits your knowledge of Palestine to the tiny Gaza Strip borders. It also means that your knowledge of Arab or foreign countries is what you watch on TV or social media. Travelling is a big dream that requires more than money; you need great patience to obtain a visa and do the necessary paperwork. I am lucky to have travelled outside Gaza at the age of 30. It was my first experience meeting people from different countries and diverse cultures, all of them gathered in Mother of the World: Egypt.
In 2018, I started applying for scholarships for post-graduate education in an Arab country. However, luck failed me, and my passport lay discarded on a shelf in my apartment. One day, my friend Ashraf El-Afifi, art director of Taghreeda Arts Team, told me there was an opportunity for us to travel to Britain to receive theatre training there, and that we must start preparing papers for travel. The trip played in my mind, starting from boarding the plane to walking London’s streets. We were interviewed at the British Consulate in Gaza and a long time passed before we receive a rejection. It was a disappointment and I regretted envisioning the trip and sights. Our elation and expectation turned into despondency and sadness.
However, the initial rejection did not deter our art director or Rosa, a young British Council worker who supported our work. They transferred the training location to Egypt during the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF). We completed the paperwork and coordinated the process to travel in one week.
We prepared our luggage and headed to the Rafah crossing. I kept telling myself, “Do not celebrate. The Egyptians might refuse your entry.” I entered the travel lounge on the Egyptian side of the border and filled in the entry visa application and other information, including the hotel I would be staying at. An Egyptian officer took the application and waited. After four hours, I received my passport with the visa stamp and boarded the bus to continue into Egypt.
I beheld a world much bigger than Gaza. It took half a day to travel from the Gaza border to Talaat Harb Square in downtown Cairo. The enormity of Egypt overwhelmed me, as did the night lights and speeding cars at 2:00 am in Cairo. We reached the hotel, which was something out of a dream in its beauty, grandeur, furniture and art.
After a few hours of rest, I left the hotel in the early morning and went sightseeing. The streets were wide and buildings huge. It was as if I were in Europe. When people started going out, I saw Arabs, Westerners, Indians and Chinese people. Everything in the city was astonishing. I was like a child who had left his room and entered a big, new world. My elation was mixed with regret as to why we could not travel freely to see this beautiful world. Why does my hometown only have war, bombardment and drones overhead?
Back at the hotel, I ate breakfast with my friends from the troupe. We went to the Abbassiya governmental complex to stamp our passports and spent the rest of the day sightseeing. We contacted the D-CAF to ask about the training facility. Training started the day after Steve arrived from London.
We went to Emad Eddin studio and entered with a group of Egyptian youth. We started the day with games as ice breakers, and to build confidence and imagination. After training, we explored Cairo at night.
The second trainer, Rachel, arrived the next day and trained us in a new technique in theatre schools. The trainers split the subsequent training days between them.
The festival theatre shows started after completion of the training. There were participants from different Arab countries, and we saw special art shows in expressive and contemporary dance. It became clear to me that art in Gaza needs development and freedom from huge obstacles to become of high quality and a social culture not limited to artists alone.
I participated in the private discussion groups with art supporters in the Middle East. They discussed production and travel challenges facing artists, with partnership and problem-solving to overcome difficulties, plus establishing contact channels with donors.
I met other Palestinian actors in the festival. There is pride in knowing that other Palestinians are presenting beautiful and innovative art about our identity and cause. There is an overwhelming desire for our next step of presenting an art and theatre show by Taghreeda Arts Team in the D-CAF festival. This dream will happen, like my dream of travelling to another country.
Sincere thanks to the British Council for supporting us. A special thanks to Rosa who stood with us step by step from the start. This experience will not be my last personal experience.
Mahmoud El-Belbeisi