June 2013, Qalandya, Ramallah, West Bank. Behind the fruit vendor, the biggest advertising sign in the Palestinian territories displays a giant picture of Haifa, a mixed Arab-Israeli city located in Israel, where many refuges are originated from but denied the access by Israel. The advert, for a telecommunication company, targets the few privileged Palestinian who are allowed to cross the check point and to go to Haifa, offering low tariff to call from Israel into West Bank. Most of Palestinian passing in front the advert could feel bitterness, as they have never seen Haifa, since Israel has established a closure policy in the West Bank. Mahmoud, the fruit vendor, has been to Haifa once in 1998, before the separation wall was built. His sons have never been to Israel.
The Palestinian Dream
France/Italy www.andrea-magda.photoshelter.com
For several decades, the representation of Palestinians has been shaped around conflict, with images of refugee camps, intifadas and Israeli operations in Gaza. Even though the stories behind these images are real, they have progressively produced a fixed representation of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian Dream project reveals a different vision, showing a new aspect of the country’s reality: the emergence of liberalism influenced by the international community is transforming the society and economy. However, Palestine remains one of the most aid-dependant countries in the world. The Palestinian Dream interrogates the mirage of a model in the particular context of Palestine.