"We Palestinians are a society, with a culture and language. We have our cause and the right to our land. Freedom of movement, speech, and press are the basics. If you’re in solidarity and you believe that, put your investment in the right place." Manar Harb

This Week in Palestine archived cover

What Are Fifteen Years?
By Manar Harb

I started my editorial career at This Week in Palestine (TWIP), and I am very proud of this fact. TWIP is a national magazine, made for the people, by the people! It may have started as a publication for tourists, but throughout the fifteen years of its existence, TWIP has acquired quite a unique archive of the Palestinian narrative. During my own experience, I was absolutely fascinated by the amount of material we received for each issue. The entire process was like soaring above the clouds with readers and writers. I was connecting with Palestinian authors from all around the world. I remember so many who reached out to us to express their thoughts and share their stories. I felt exposed to the entire Palestinian community that I was trying to connect with. Suddenly, TWIP was the only place that somewhat represented a “collective.”

The collective is an important part of the Palestinian struggle; no collective, no victory. And Palestinians everywhere need to think about a collective vision if we wish to have a future with a place called Palestine. Don’t kid yourself, we Palestinians are close to extinction. Perhaps I exaggerate, perhaps not; either way, without a complete understanding of the entire picture - the documentation and narration of what happened, and of what is taking place - there will be no justice!

Local organisations and businesses in solidarity with the Palestinians should support such a constructive medium. We Palestinians are a society, with a culture and language. We have our cause and the right to our land. Freedom of movement, speech, and press are the basics. If you’re in solidarity and you believe that, put your investment in the right place.

Finance and marketing are two important factors in the life of a magazine, and they also influence the content and final output. These are areas that we should also think about and examine. The overhead involved in printing 12,000 copies of each issue is not cheap! And yes, to sustain a magazine, resources are required.

TWIP has the capacity to reflect a part of the Palestinian narrative to an English-speaking audience, which is a pretty powerful tool. And the English-speaking audience is a broad audience. We Palestinians have not been very good at presenting ourselves in public. I mean the public media. We haven’t been very successful at presenting ourselves to each other. I find that TWIP is a healthy space for us to have these exchanges and conversations between ourselves, and yes, in English, because the world needs to know.

Palestinians will always be weak if we remain divided; we will be strong only if we are united with our Arab neighbours and allies. It is true that borders disconnect us, and that if it weren’t for the Israeli occupation, there’s no reason why I wouldn’t be speaking Farsi or Turkish. There was a point in time, not long ago, when those borders were wide open and people travelled freely from village to village, and town to town. We won’t forget what once was, but we will also look very closely at the present.

The present is the most exciting time! Some say that the present is a gift.

The best gifts are those that come unexpected. We’ve got some presents to give! With the young and the old, our voices, our energy, our fathers and sons, our mothers and daughters, we’ve got to tell our stories; that’s the only way to justice.

The magazine has survived fifteen years of wars and conflict, issue after issue, curfew or not, TWIP was published! The clarity of the vision behind TWIP is what drives this success.

I am grateful for TWIP as a model of success for Palestinians, an experience that reflects how persistence and faith go a long way. For the future of this humble magazine, I only hope for further growth. And thank you, TWIP, for capturing some of the brighter moments. (:

I am really proud of you, Sani Meo and Taisir Masrieh!
Manar A. Harb is an aspiring writer and previous content editor of This Week in Palestine.

http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=4157&ed=225&edid=225

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