The Freedom Theatre

About UsThe Freedom Theatre is a cultural and theatre training center, established in 2006 and registered as a Swedish foundation with official registry number 1019727, file no. 5687a, and organization number: 802425-1582 in accordance to Swedish law.


The founding of "The Freedom Theatre" was inspired by the work of Arna Mer Khamis
The members of the "Freedom Theatre" Association wish to announce that we intend to rebuild the children's theatre in the Jenin Refugee Camp which was established by Arna Mer Khamis and was destroyed by the Israeli Army in 2002.


Arna was born in 1929 to Jewish parents in the land of Palestine before the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. She began a lifetime of campaigning for peace, justice and human rights in her homeland - which most often meant acting and speaking out uncompromisingly for the rights of the Palestinian people and against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.


It was at the time of the Palestinian uprising, or "The Stone Intifada", in 1988 that Arna saw the need to establish centers in the Jenin refugee camp for children affected by the violence around them. She founded the organization "Care and Learning" to respond to their needs.
Jenin refugee camp was established in 1953, within the municipal boundaries of Jenin in the West Bank. The camp was set up by UNRWA to house Palestinian refugees who lost their homes as a result of the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 which is known as the Palestinian Catastrophe "Nakbah".


In 1993 Arna was awarded "The Alternative Nobel Prize" in Sweden for her work. She used the award to build and finance a children's theatre in Jenin camp, "Arna's House". Arna, alongside with her son Juliano, taught a group of children from Jenin camp how to act and perform, enabling the children to "bring the sun back into the palace" as their first play was called. Two years later, Arna Mer-Khamis died after a lengthy struggle against cancer.


In 2002, the Israeli Army invaded Jenin Refugee camp. As a result of the 10 day invasion, the theatre was destroyed, so there was no place left for the children of Jenin camp to play and perform.


In August 2005, friends and colleagues of Arna, community leaders in Jenin Refugee Camp, and the local staff of a child rehabilitation centre met to set about recreating Arna's children theatre in Jenin camp in order to educate, encourage, and empower the children. The Freedom Theatre was born, aiming to provide the children of Jenin Camp with opportunities for a "real" childhood, creative means of expressing themselves, and some light and hope. In its rehabilitation role the theatre will also be used, in conjunction with the rehabilitation committee in Jenin, for speech therapy and various therapeutic drama programs and as a space for the committee to expand their work, rehabilitating disabled children.

The Freedom theatre Association calls upon relief and welfare organizations as well as social, political, educational, and cultural NGO's, and supportive individuals, to help us in our effort by donating funds, services, expertise and relevant materials. No donation is too small.

BY : http://www.thefreedomtheatre.org