Elusive Voices: Preserving the Stories of Elderly Palestinian Refugees

يُعتبر الفلسطينيون في المنفى من بين أكثر المجتمعات اللاجئة ديمومة في العالم. هدف المشروع إلى إجراء مسح يؤدي إلى رقمنة وحفظ تحتوي على حوالي 700 ساعة من المقابلات مع لاجئين فلسطينيين مسنين حول القرى الفلسطينية، تم تسجيلها بين عامي 2009 و2015 في الأردن ولبنان وسوريا وتم وضعوها على 359 قرص مدمج بهدف الحفاظ على ذكريات كبار السن من اللاجئين، التي أصبحت تتلاشى تدريجياً.

---

Palestinians in exile are one of the most enduring refugee communities in the world. The survey lead to the digitization and preservation of 359 DVDs containing approximately 700 hours of interviews with elderly Palestinian refugees recorded between 2009 and 2015 in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The Arab Resource Center for Popular Arts (Al-Jana) holds the original DVDs and, now, digital copies of these oral histories. This project will ensure the preservation of the memories of refugee elders, which are becoming increasingly elusive.

Community members participated in the metadata creation process, listening to the DVDs to ensure robust documentation. These community members found the interviews to be inspirational and meaningful to their heritage. These recorded interviews provide insight into the lived experiences that may be relatively unknown to many.