SkatePal and Palestinian sub-culture by Hannah Booth
Back in early March, Artonomy supplied live musical and visual artists for Kalyan Presents SkatePAL @ Wharf Chambers, a night showcasing and raising funds for the British non-profit organisation SkatePAL. Over the past couple of years, SkatePAL has built three skateparks in the West Bank, and provided classes for boys and girls of all ages showing an interest in the sport. Children skated all summer after discovering the first ramps in Ramallah, built at a youth centre in 2013. 16-year-old Aram explained at the time that taking up skateboarding after first seeing it on TV provided a positive change; they were off the streets, and felt exhilarated by signs of progress. Charlie Davis, founder of SkatePAL, sees skateboarding as an outlet for channelling energy into positive, focussed and creative expression that is particularly relevant to children growing up in a situation of conflict.
In the West Bank, unemployment is high, and the economy is vulnerable; so, these past couple of decades, Palestinian existence has been renewing its strength through the sociocultural. Developing arts institutions, performing, transmitting traditional heritage, and even pushing into modern practices such as hip-hop, all serve to maintain a contemporary Palestinian narrative, both locally and on an international platform. A rise in after-school clubs, youth centres, music and arts classes, initiated by both local institutions and international NGOs, provides children who otherwise would be outside unoccupied with opportunities for healthy development throughout the turbulence.
SkatePAL is taking part in a collective effort to support the blossoming of the new generation of Palestinians. Last summer, a team of twenty volunteers went to the West Bank. Despite an evident language barrier, the results are exciting; growing numbers on the ramps, developing friendships, signs of organised play and sharing, mutual support in learning, and a lot of laughter throughout. SkatePAL will head back out in 2015, with a new building project for Asira El-Shameliya, a village close to Nablus, in the Northern West Bank. www.skatepal.co.uk is currently taking applications for a new team, and the organisation continues to raise funds for the project. Past team members testify the renewed power of skateboarding to connect people around the world and create links between cultures. In turn, we connect with skatePAL and the children of the West Bank through renewed support for their honourable work.
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