The Streets Revisited
A few weeks ago, the 7iber crew met up with a few brilliant young residents of Jabal Al-Ashrafyah, who, in the absence of any official help from their City, had taken up the task of cleaning up their streets. Last Thursday, the 7iber crew went back to the Jabal to see what had changed since their first visit in July, and to what extent the article Taking Back The Streets had an impact.
Written By: 7iber | Multimedia: Naseem Tarawnah
The first thing that grabs your attention is the incline. Jabal Al-Ashrafyah, like all of its surrounding sister jabals (or hills) is a condensed community of homes that take the shape of a giant hill imperfectly. The view of west Amman is stunning, and perhaps a glaring contrast to the realities of the Jabal and the rest of east Amman. For those who have ever argued that the city is not divided should pay a visit to Al-Ashrafyah and stare at the progress of the landscape in the far horizon. The towering skyscrapers of the Jordan Gates and the peaking gestures of monumental hotels such as Le Royal seem a whole other city away. As one local resident remarked, progress is something that takes a long time to get to a place like Jabal Al-Ashrafyah, where even something as small as the new street signs that have only recently mapped out west Amman, have yet to make an appearance over here.
Through the winding and complicated roads we find our way back to the street that saw local kids making a difference. It is a humble cul–de–sac called Souq Okaz, with only a few tightly-packed, stone-less buildings on either side, yet this small block is home to over 30 kids under the age of 14. How they became a mobilized team is not a long story. Tatawor, a Jordanian NGO that focuses on youth and women development and growth, has been going into such communities and creating what can best be described as a very decentralized steering committee that meets once a month. Schooled by Tatawor in the ways of good governance and active citizenship, the committee attempts to outline the local problems they face, such as the lack of a police station in the area, and Tatawor helps bring the policymakers to the table in an attempt to remedy the situation. It is a program Tatawor has developed under the name “Citizen In My City”.
Nadia’a Mirdia, a local mother who attended one such meeting convinced her 14-year old son, Ameen Sanjaqieh of the concept of active citizenship, who spared no time in mobilizing his friends. Before venturing into the streets to play – the only open space where they can actively do that – the kids would take it upon themselves to clean up beforehand. Soon enough they decided to buy some chalk and draw on the walls to give the street some character, and in no time, they sought out some support from Tatawor to help them facilitate activities where they could paint their sidewalks or even create a mural. In a matter of weeks, the idea has grown to reach about 60 local children in Al-Ashrafyah, all of whom are willing and eager to change their own streets. It has become a small campaign that has been cultivated under the banner of: “Clean at home, Clean Everywhere,” a slogan created by Ameen himself.
A few days after being published on 7iber, the crew received a call from the Greater Amman Municipality, followed by another call from the Royal Hashemite Court, both parties expressing interest in the story. Soon enough, the kids were rewarded for their efforts in unexpected ways. Jordanian actor Ghandi Saber, best known for his role as the villainous father in the award-winning film Captain Abu Raed, paid a visit to the street and helped the kids develop a short and lively play on their experiences. Artist Tareq Areeda also came around to help them spray paint a few walls, depicting both their experiences and their aspirations.
The result was a fun-filled afternoon that saw the local kids putting their personal touches on their walls to the point of insistence and overflowing enthusiasm. In the end, with an August Sun descending, the most difficult task became convincing everyone that they couldn’t paint in the dark, leaving one wall incomplete until another day in the near future, and hence this story ending in the only way such stories should end: with a hopeful ‘to be continued.’
Wow! That is wonderful! Really wonderful!
I read both articles, i never made it to Ashrafieh, but heard there is a good Armenian meat loaf bakery, so i should go soon.
Great work from Tatawor and your side. The end result looks good :)
Thanks Geore for your comment… The project was fun and we had as much as fun as the kids, only we all were exhausted at the end of the day… ( the kids were not!)
How refreshing! Wish I was there …. I guess my only reservation, with regards to the video, is the artist ‘telling’ the children where to colour and how to do it…
I wish he had – instead – handed the paint to the children, gave them creative control, and let their imaginations be their guide…
Colour is not enough to make the wall ‘their own’… they also need to be able to see their vision, growth, and personal subjectivity on it.
Ghandi Saber is a brilliant dramatist, and an expert in Forum Theatre, so I hope his session allowed a greater space for the children’s personal narratives/imaginations!
This is fantastic!! I almost skipped this follow-up, and what a treat would have been lost. amazing what momentum has been built. Not only should it be continued, but multiplied.
Mariam, bravo 3alayki! I want to talk more about Tatawor!
Thank you for your kindness… It was so much fun… Of course, anytime you want…
I love thissssss… brilliant feature ya Naseem… beautiful
Very good job, I’m very impressed.
Ruba: thanks
Deena: that’s a valid point, but, lol, as strange as this may be to say: had what you suggested taken place there might have been utter chaos. These kids were full of a lot of energy and they spent the afternoon like random atoms colliding, and perhaps literally in this case, bumping off the walls. So much energy that it made the rest of us all so tired just observing.
In other words, that kind of youthful energy needs to be directed a bit in order to produce something nice.
But sometimes, your way is good too :-D
I wasn’t trying to belittle how tired or energy consuming the day was – I hope my comment wasn’t taken that way. I applaud you and your team for your commitment and dedication. However, I wasn’t speaking from opinion – it just seemed to me that the project overlooked the whole component of “participatory” within the discipline of community art.
There is a tendency, culturally, to “direct” everything – to use your word; from art to economics and politics. So the issue is not, as you suggested, which method is ‘good’, ‘works’, or produces something ‘nice’ – it is about what kind of generation we want to create. Do we want a generation just like ours and our forefathers, all who have been taught through ‘direction’??
All I am asking is, would Picasso have been Picasso if someone told him how to draw and colour?? It is said he sees the world through the eyes of a child, and that is the beauty of his work. Let us not deprive children from seeing the world through their own eyes so soon.
Again, I hope my comment wasn’t taken in the wrong way! I admire you all and hope your work and dedication will inspire others to follow your path :)
This is an excellent first step – from grass roots spirit and action to attracting various entities and people to get engaged, and sharing the stories. Excellent. Just keep going. Organized, chaotic, participatory, controlled, short, long, safe, risky, whatever- just don’t stop, and allow time to process and evolve it. Continuity is key if we want to live results.
What’s next?
amazing job, keep the good work,
best of luck
Bravo pour cette initiative ! Nous travaillons en France sur ce thème et sommes impressionnés par la mobilisation des enfants dans leur quartier. Peut-on travailler ensemble sur un projet ?
Wow! That’s kind of an amazing project. I’m really stunned. These kids get something to do of their own, a way of self-expression and self-organization: That’s the kind of opportunities kids need.
[...] neighborhood. Nearly one month later, their streets were re-visited by our team to be part of a full-day of fun activities under the slogan “Clean at Home, Clean Everywhere”, a slogan created by Ameen [...]