The Organising Committee of The Key of Return: from Palestine to Berlin and the Aida Youth Centre invited all to join in the ceremony of departure of the Key of Return from Aida Refugee Camp, Bethlehem.
The Key departed for the German capital of Berlin on Monday 12th March 2012 at 11am in front of the Gate of Return at Aida Refugee Camp.
The Key of Return will be exhibited at the seventh Berlin Biennale from April 27th until July 1st, 2012.
An Organising Committee statement said: ‘In 2008, the residents of the Aida Refugee Camp near Bethlehem in Palestine collaboratively produced what is said to be the largest key in the world (its makers have even attempted to gain this official title from Guinness World Records).
‘The key, weighing close to two tons and measuring around nine metres in length, was made of steel and installed at the entrance to the camp announcing:
‘Our right of return is not for sale.’
‘Since the expulsion of Palestinians in 1948 and 1967 into numerous refugee camps in Palestine and the Middle East, generations of refugees have been waiting for their ‘right of return’.
‘When they left their homes, the generation of the Nakba took their keys with them, in the belief that their return was imminent.
‘More than sixty years have passed, and their numbers have multiplied to around five million Palestinian refugees worldwide.
‘The keys have been passed on from generation to generation as a keepsake – as a memory of their lost homes and as lasting symbols of the right of return, but also as affirmations of their human rights.
‘The 7th Berlin Biennale for Contempoary Art requested to borrow the Key of Return from the Aida Refugee Camp community, for the duration of the 7th Berlin Biennale, from April 27th to July 1st 2012.
‘The key travels thousands of miles across land and sea to Germany, where the question of the right of return of the refugees is brought to the foreground and the significance of the key’s exhibition in Berlin is underlined.
‘The Key will be brought back to Aida refugee camp as soon as the exhibition in Berlin ends.
‘From its departure from Aida through the villages and cities from which the residents were displaced in 1948, the key will succeed in realising part of the dream of millions of Palestinian refugees.
‘The Key will travel through the villages of the South: Beir Msallam, Beit Jibreen, Khirbet Atallah, Iraq Al-Manshiyah, Al-Faluja, Jseir, Tal Alturmus, Almasmiyah Alsagheerah, Almasmiyah Alkabeera, Arab Safreir and arriving at Mina Al-Qila‘ (Ashdod).
‘Since most Palestinians face grave difficulties in obtaining travel permits, the Key is their chance to bring their message to the world.
‘With this trip, the key will bring with it the soul of the refugee camps, the soul of every refugee in Palestine and abroad, and the soul of the right of return.
‘The Organising Committee of the “Key of Return Campaign“ affirms that this collaboration with the 7th Berlin Biennale is a national accomplishment for all Palestinians and Palestinian refugees.
‘The trip of the key is filled with political symbolism that will generate attention and discussion around the issue of the right of return.
‘In addition, the Key will be welcomed by Palestinian refugees living in Berlin upon its arrival, thus creating an focal connection between both refugee communities.
‘The Key of Return is a collaborative project of the 7th Berlin Biennale and the International Academy of Art, Palestine in cooperation with Schlesische 27, Internationales JugendKunst- und Kulturhaus, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg.
‘The 7th Berlin Biennale is curated by Artur Z˙mijewski with Joanna Warsza and Voina group as associate curators.
‘The key sculpture is a collective work by the refugees of the Bethlehem area and the Aida Youth Centre.
‘This project is co-curated by the youth centre in Aida refugee camp, Khaled Hourani, Director of International Art Academy Palestine, Toleen Touq, independent curator, Palestine/Jordan and Franziska Zahl, 7th Berlin Biennale.
‘It is made possible with financial support from the Goethe-Institute, Ramallah.’
Aida Youth Centre said: ‘The Key of Return will be exhibited at the seventh Berlin Biennale from April 27th until July 1st, 2012.
‘The Berlin Biennale is considered one of the most prestigious art fairs in Europe, as well as on the international art scene, with an expected attendance of two million visitors this year.
‘This event is part of growing international solidarity with Palestine and strengthens the Palestinian determination to the right of return to the cities and villages from which they were expelled in 1948.
‘The Key is a national symbol of the Palestinians’ displacement and a witness to their suffering, ongoing for 64 years.
‘One of Aida Youth Centre’s most imaginative projects was the creation of the Key of Return, which now stands on top of the 12m high Gate of Return at the entrance to the camp.
‘The Al Awada (Return) Key is a peaceful, symbolic and creative representation of the refugees’ right of return, and the dreams of many at Aida camp to one day return home.
‘The “Not for Sale” sign on the key serves as a reminder that the right of return is not one that can be bought or negotiated.
‘The Key weighs two tons and Aida Youth Centre is currently trying to list it with the Guinness Book of Records as the largest key in the world.
‘The project was completed in 2008 to mark the 60th Anniversary of Al Nakba (the Catastrophe). On May 8/15th 2008, the key accompanied a march, which began at Dheisheh refugee camp, then on to Azza, then finally onto Aida camp where the key was erected on top of the Gate of Return in front of the whole community.
‘For tourists, volunteers and notable figures that visit the camp, the key stands as a provoking symbol, and has created a growing awareness and reminder of the refugees’ right to return, a right that is at once legal, humanitarian and political.’
l The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Monday published recommendations to a meeting of donors on Palestine this week.
The position paper for the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee’s Wednesday meeting in Brussels says the PA will focus on development of Area C, the 62 per cent of the West Bank under full Israeli control.
Palestinians ‘cannot simply wait for the conclusion of peace negotiations to reverse this de-development and destruction of livelihoods’ by the Israeli occupation,’ the report says.
It calls on donors to support this effort and to ‘employ all tools at their disposal at the diplomatic level to enable development beyond “Area A” and “Area B” ’ – the limited areas of PA control under the 1993 Oslo Accords.
‘We cannot stand still. To do so would be tantamount to giving up on our quest for the state of Palestine,’ the PA paper says.
It proposes investment in agriculture and tourism, particularly restoring tourism sites and infrastructure in Area C.
The PA will also prioritise sustainable reconstruction of Gaza and rebuilding of Palestinian institutions and infrastructure in East Jerusalem, the paper adds.
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank issued reports for the meeting earlier this week, warning that the Palestinian government’s economic crisis will have an impact on state-building efforts and will force the country to cut public wages and social benefits.
They called on donor nations to fulfill their pledges, after an aid shortfall saw the donor-dependent PA’s debt spiral. The PA budget deficit is projected to reach $1.1 billion in 2012.
Israel has occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip since 1967.
