Eman Mohammed: The courage to tell a hidden story

Translator: Nika Kotnik Reviewer: Klavdija Cernilogar

When I turned 19, I started my career

Ko sem dopolnila 19 let, sem začela s kariero

as the first female photojournalist

prve ženske fotoreporterke

in the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

na območju Gaze, v Palestini.

My work as a woman photographer

Moje delo ženske fotografinje

was considered a serious insult

je bilo razumljeno kot resna žalitev lokalnih tradicij

to local traditions,

and created a lasting stigma

in je ustvarilo trajno stigmo

for me and my family.

zame in za mojo družino.

The male-dominated field made my presence

Na področju, ki mu vladajo moški, sem bila na vse mogoče načine nezaželena.

unwelcome by all possible means.

They made clear that a woman

Jasno so mi pokazali, da ženska ne sme opravljati moškega dela.

must not do a man's job.

Photo agencies in Gaza refused to train me

Fotografske agencije v Gazi me zaradi mojega spola niso želele usposabljati.

because of my gender.

The "No" sign was pretty clear.

Znak "Ne" je bil precej jasen.

Three of my colleagues

Trije moji kolegi so šli celo tako daleč, da so me peljali na območje bombardiranja,

went as far as to drive me to an open air strike area

where the explosion sounds

kjer so bile eksplozije edina stvar, ki sem jo lahko slišala.

were the only thing I could hear.

Dust was flying in the air,

Prah je letel po zraku

and the ground was shaking like a swing beneath me.

in tla pod menoj so se zibala kot gugalnica.

I only realized we weren't there to document the event

Da ne bomo dokumentirali dogodka, sem spoznala šele,

when the three of them got back into the armored Jeep

ko so se vsi trije vrnili v oklepni avtomobil

and drove away, waving and laughing,

in se odpeljali stran, se smejali in mahali

leaving me behind in the open air strike zone.

in me pustili za seboj na območju bombardiranja.

For a moment, I felt terrified,

Za trenutek sem bila prestrašena,

humiliated, and sorry for myself.

ponižana, smilila sem se sama sebi.

My colleagues' action was not

Dejanje mojih kolegov ni bila edina grožnja s smrtjo, ki sem jo prejela,

the only death threat I have received,

but it was the most dangerous one.

a je bila najbolj nevarna.

The perception of women's life in Gaza

V Gazi ženske vidijo kot pasivne.

is passive.

Until a recent time, a lot of women were not allowed

Do nedavnega veliko žensk ni smelo delati ali se izobraževati.

to work or pursue education.

At times of such doubled war including

V časih te podvojene vojne, ki je vključevala

both social restrictions on women

tako socialne omejitve žensk

and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,

kot tudi izraelsko-palestinski konflikt,

women's dark and bright stories were fading away.

so temne in svetle zgodbe žensk bledele.

To men, women's stories were seen

Moškim so se ženske zgodbe zdele nepomembne.

as inconsequential.

I started paying closer attention

Življenje žensk v Gazi sem začela bolje opazovati.

to women's lives in Gaza.

Because of my gender, I had access

Zaradi svojega spola sem imela dostop

to worlds where my colleagues were forbidden.

do svetov, kamor je bil vstop kolegom prepovedan.

Beyond the obvious pain and struggle,

Za očitno bolečino in težavami

there was a healthy dose

je bila zdrava mera smeha in dosežkov.

of laughter and accomplishments.

In front of a police compound in Gaza City

Pred policijskim poslopjem v mestu Gaza

during the first war in Gaza,

je med prvo vojno

an Israeli air raid managed to destroy the compound

izraelski napad uspel uničiti poslopje

and break my nose.

in mi zlomiti nos.

For a moment, all I saw was white, bright white,

Za trenutek sem videla samo belino, svetlo belino

like these lights.

kot te luči tu.

I thought to myself I either got blind

Pomislila sem, da sem oslepela

or I was in heaven.

ali pa šla v nebesa.

By the time I managed to open my eyes,

Ko sem odprla oči,

I had documented this moment.

sem uspela ujeti ta trenutek.

Mohammed Khader, a Palestinian worker

Mohamed Khader, delavec iz Palestine, ki je preživel dve desetletji v Izraelu,

who spent two decades in Israel,

as his retirement plan,

se je pred upokojitvijo odločil zgraditi štirinadstropno hišo

he decided to build a four-floor house,

only by the first field operation at his neighborhood,

in v prvem napadu na njegovo sosesko so hišo zravnali s tlemi.

the house was flattened to the ground.

Nothing was left but the pigeons he raised

Ostalo ni nič, razen golobov, ki jih je vzgojil,

and a jacuzzi, a bathtub

in jacuzzija, kopalne kadi, ki jo je dobil iz Tel Aviva.

that he got from Tel Aviv.

Mohammed got the bathtub

Mohamed je spravil kopalno kad na vrh ruševin

on the top of the rubble

and started giving his kids

in začel otrokom vsako jutro pripravljati penečo kopel.

an every morning bubble bath.

My work is not meant to hide the scars of war,

Moje delo ni namenjeno skrivanju brazgotin vojne,

but to show the full frame

ampak pokazati celoten okvir nevidnih zgodb Gaze.

of unseen stories of Gazans.

As a Palestinian female photographer,

Kot fotografinjo iz Palestine

the journey of struggle, survival and everyday life

me je potovanje truda, preživetja in vsakdanjega življenja

has inspired me to overcome the community taboo

navdihnilo, da sem premagala družbeni tabu

and see a different side of war and its aftermath.

in videla drugo stran vojne in njenih posledic.

I became a witness with a choice:

Postala sem priča z izbiro:

to run away or stand still.

da zbežim ali ostanem.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplavz)