HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

SouthCoast Indymedia

Teaching King Lear in occupied Palestine

Brighton Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group | 12.04.2008 15:54 | Education | Palestine | South Coast | World

When a Brighton deelgation visited a remote school in the Jordan Valley, occupied palestine, one of them found themself teaching King Lear to a class of students, but who learnt the most?

Nawaal, the headteacher, leads me out of the glaring sunlight and into the classroom. My eyes adjusting to the relative gloom, I find myself faced with a dozen boys barely younger than me, comfortable, curious, and amused.

Minutes before, I and the Brighton Tubas delegation were being shown around the new school of Al Jiflik, a large village spread across one of the many beautiful valleys of the West Bank. It was our first day in occupied Palestine. Before thinking, I pressed my services on Nawaal, suggesting that my native tongue could be of great value in her English lesson. It is for this reason that I was soon politely shoved into the dark but comfortable classroom, and sat upon a traditional wooden schoolchair in a class of eighteen-year-olds.

The maths class is in mid-flow. My entrance shatters the atmosphere of learning, and I notice the presence of another dozen young people, girls, whispering and giggling at the back. Accepting the disruption, the maths teacher – who is young and hard, but not unkind – continues. As he chalks up familiar-looking algebra, the girls behind me interject constantly with suggestions, and guided by their words, formulae form across the far wall. It is perhaps ten o’clock. Giggling and sidelong glances continue, but out of deference to the teacher, I politely pretend to find great interest in long division.

Maths class over, I wait silently as Nawaal introduces me to the class. The lesson today, she continues, is on King Lear. (Thankfully, this is one of the few plays by the Bard that I’ve actually read.) She suggests I run through the plot, and accepting the offered piece of chalk, I take the stage.

King Lear, I discover, is a political play. As we work through the plot together, the young adults and I portray an historical tale of struggle, greed, and death. On the board, their suggestions take shape: the unwise king, the cruel daughters who take up his crown, the honest girl who pays the price for her truthfulness. Britain is divided, and it seems the King of France will have to declare war in order to restore peace… In the end, everyone dies. I draw the masks of ‘comedy’ and ‘tragedy’ of the board, and remind the class that this is the latter. The Duke of Albany, one of the few survivors, inherits the country. I write THE END on the board, but the class is sceptical. Nawal reminds me that Albany, like others, was cruel when it came to the crunch. I add a question mark to my conclusion, and it seems to satisfy the class: THE END?

I fail to notice the teachers’ strike has started during the class. The teachers here have not been paid for a year, and the direct action has been planned for some time, but the immersion of the lesson makes me forget such things. The pupils, I am pleased to say, do not make a fuss, but stay for the whole lesson, and then for another half hour to ask me questions. Later, I will realise this, and feel flattered. For now, I respond to their questions.

Mostly they want to know where I am from, why I am here, what school is like in Britain. I tell them about the delegation, and about how we start school and four or five, and the weather. One girl asks me whether I had to go through a checkpoint to get here. I confirm this, and tell her what the soldier told me: ‘Welcome to Israel.’ The news sends a ripple of whispered conversation around the class, translating my words, confirming them, arguing in hushed tones. Finally one girl speaks up. She says, as though there must be some mistake, ‘But this is Palestine’. I do not know what to say.

To see online blogs from the Brighton delegation currently in Palestine visit www.brightonpalestine.org

Brighton Tubas Friendship and Solidarity Group
- e-mail: brightontubas@gmail.com
- Homepage: http://brightontubas@gmail.com

Comments

Display the following 2 comments

  1. . — Jamal
  2. Where to read and see more by this author — pename

Publish

Publish your news

Do you need help with publishing?

-->

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

South Coast [navigation.actions2016]

South Coast [navigation.actions2015]

South Coast [navigation.actions2014]

NATO 2014

South Coast Actions 2013

G8 2013

South Coast Actions 2012

Workfare

South Coast Actions 2011

2011 Census Resistance
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Occupy Everywhere

South Coast Actions 2010

Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands

South Coast Actions 2009

COP15 Climate Summit 2009
G20 London Summit
Guantánamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
University Occupations for Gaza

South Coast Actions 2008

2008 Days Of Action For Autonomous Spaces
Campaign against Carmel-Agrexco
Climate Camp 2008
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Smash EDO
Stop Sequani Animal Testing
Stop the BNP's Red White and Blue festival

South Coast Actions 2007

Climate Camp 2007
DSEi 2007
G8 Germany 2007
Mayday 2007
No Border Camp 2007

South Coast Actions 2006

April 2006 No Borders Days of Action
Art and Activism Caravan 2006
Climate Camp 2006
Faslane
French CPE uprising 2006
G8 Russia 2006
Lebanon War 2006
March 18 Anti War Protest
Mayday 2006
Oaxaca Uprising
Refugee Week 2006
Rossport Solidarity
SOCPA
Transnational Day of Action Against Migration Controls
WSF 2006

South Coast Actions 2005

DSEi 2005
G8 2005
WTO Hong Kong 2005

South Coast Actions 2004

European Social Forum
FBI Server Seizure
May Day 2004
Venezuela

South Coast Actions 2003

Bush 2003
DSEi 2003
Evian G8
May Day 2003
No War F15
Saloniki Prisoner Support
Thessaloniki EU
WSIS 2003

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech