“We didn’t come to Quimper and Brittany just to dance, but to tell the world that we exist. That we are a people, with a living culture that people seek to erase. But we are here. Thank you for welcoming us.” A little less than 4 p.m. at the foot of the Terrain Blanc stage, this Friday June 12 in Penhars. Razan Haj, 32, a professional doctor, guide and leader of the group of eight young Palestinians invited by the Kemper-Balata association, reiterates, without acrimony and with a smile, the meaning of this great cultural exchange. He led the small group from the Balata camp in the West Bank near Naplouz in the Palestinian territories where he lives, to the capital of Cornwall, before other stages in Finistère.
Behind the young woman and under delicate stage lighting, eight boys and girls aged 11 to 14 rehearse dabkeh choreographies, a traditional Palestinian dance, in which they peacefully embody their identity and bring their culture to life. They will give their show to the people of Quimper in a few hours.
A group of eight young Palestinian dancers from the Balata camp near Nablus in the West Bank in the company of four adults including an official representative of the Palestinian “governance” of the Balata camp. They are welcomed and accompanied by the Quimper members of the Kemper-Balata association, including Hélène Despierres and Grégory Lebert in the center of the photo. (Le Télégramme/Olivier Scaglia)
“Having a child’s life”
“The children in the group really want to connect with other children. Life in the Balata camp offers them neither the opportunity to speak with other cultures nor to talk about their own. It is also an opportunity for them to talk about their daily life punctuated with complications,” explains Razan Haj.
They just want to live normally, move around, go to school, play… have a child’s life
“They discover here for the first time what a free country is. You know, we are talking about issues linked to artificial intelligence all over the world… They just want to live normally, move around, go to school, play… have a child’s life,” adds the young woman, also a member of the sort of “municipal council” of the camp. Balata.
Experiencing freedom
Leen, 12 years old, is one of four Palestinian teenagers embarked on the Breton adventure. “I was very surprised to see flowers everywhere in the city. And a lot of greenery” says the young girl who measures the spaces of freedom in the only possibility of moving normally from one city to another.
