From April 20-24, the refugee relief organization, Humanity Crew, will host Proactivia Open Arms. Humanity Crew is an international relief organization based in Haifa, which focuses exclusively on providing psychosocial support to refugees around the world. Proactiva Open Arms, an organization of lifeguards based in Barcelona, seeks to mitigate the human toll of the refugee crisis through rescue missions in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, as well as by raising awareness of this humanitarian crisis. 

The partnership between Humanity Crew and Proactivia Open Arms began in Lesbos in 2015 and continues this week with a series of meetings and presentations aimed at raising awareness of the Syrian refugee crisis. 

During the visit, Humanity Crew and Proactivia will hold several screenings of “To Kyma: A Rescue in the Aegean Sea,“ a film which follows Proactivia lifeguards during one of their rescue missions. Public screenings will take place in Nazareth and Ramallah on April 20 and April 24 respectively. For more information, please see below. In cooperation with Humanity Crew and Proactivia, the Mossawa Center will also host a private screening of the film for various community members and diplomatic officials in Israel. This event is part of the Mossawa Center’s EU-funded project to develop and strengthen Arab civil society organizations. 

The screening in Nazareth on April 20 will take place alongside Aladin Samara’s photographic exhibition, “B51, The Address of Disappointment,” as well as Murad Sughair’s art exhibition, “Balam.” The former seeks to shed light on life of Middle East refugees in Greek refugee camps though an an examination of the refugee and his interaction with his new home, his past, and his future. “Balam,”which Sughair describes as “a means of transport of hope between the two sides of death,” is a realist, expressionist piece which illustrates the moments of the refugee’s initial arrival on the shore. Both artists joined Humanity Crew during its trips to Greece in 2016.

Oscar Camps and Gerard Canals Bartolome from Proactivia and filmmakers David Fontesca and Arantza Diez will also participate in meetings with local organizations, give lectures in schools, and visit refugee camps in the West Bank in order to raise awareness and develop transnational relationships and efforts. In cooperation with Mossawa, the group will also visit Jisr az-Zarqa to gain a better understanding of some of the issues facing Palestinian citizens in Israel. 

The event on Thursday, April 20 begins at 7PM at Cinemana Nazareth. The screening, which will begin at 8PM, will be accompanied by the two exhibitions. For reservations, please call 046301188. 

The second screening will take place on Monday, April 24 at 7PM at the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center in Ramallah. For reservations, please call 0599504646.

For more information, please visit the Facebook event page or call 0523092982.