Naziha Arebi

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[naziha10]

So, as many of you know, I’ve been working on these two films the last six years, which may be why I’ve been rather absent here. One of those films, Freedom Fields Film , we are about to share with the world very soon, beginning with our World Premiere at #TIFF18 in Toronto next week and UK premiere at BFI #LFF in London. I am so so proud and inspired by the women in it who let me into their world, making me part of theirs and them part of mine. I am also so grateful to the people who believed in me and helped me make it, and I am heartbroken for a place and people I love so much that are currently caught in horrible mindless fighting once again these last weeks.

I’d love to share a slice of this place and the version of Libya that stays with me everyday, with you. It’s a film about resilience, freedom, and the power of team, it’s about what happens when we loose everything over and over and the strength we find to rebuild. It’s about loss, sisterhood, dreams, breathing, but mostly its about beginnings.

Find us at:  https://www.freedomfieldsfilm.com

Twitter : @freefieldsfilm

Facebook: Freedom Fields Film

Instagram: @freefieldsfilm

[naziha10]

Libya

[naziha10]

Eid Mubarak to all those celebrating/sacrificing.

Back after a long hiatus. On a day when everyone contemplates the idea of sacrifice, I wonder how much more normal people will sacrifice to prop up the war lords and those in power in a war that is so complex and abstract that I can no longer keep up.

Escapism and denial seems to be the coping mechanism for many, BBQing as war looms in the background; but this a luxury limited to those who can indulge it.

I hope the year forward brings new found hope for all in the region and lets face it, the world. “May we live in interesting times”, or even a Terry Pratchett discworld. 

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A child creatively depicts a scene of conflict in his school exhibition. A school that was hit during the massacre of Gharghour in 2013, killing 47 and injuring over 450 people . 

“Studies show Post Traumatic Stress Disorder prevalence in children and adolescents exposed to political conflicts tend to be even higher than in adults. Children exposed to violent war-like and repeated political violence often experience a continued threat to life and their sense of safety, as well as a disruption of daily functioning and behaviours.” – National Centre for PTSD

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Horses at The Temple of Zeus, Cyrene, Libya.

[naziha10]

In Libya, other than the civil war and the growing control of ISIS/Dash…. there is another epidemic that people don’t want to talk about. Not only do they not want to talk about it, upon doing some research I discovered that there was only one hospital that specialises in the treatment of this “thing” that no one wants to talk about, and it only has 34 beds, for the whole of a country of 6 million. Now while you may sit there and say we have other things to worry about, like a civil war, a financial crisis, three governing bodies pulling the country apart and a fourth little thing called ISIS, the longer we sweep things like this under the carpet the worse it will become, without education these issues simply grow. This is why I was soo sooo happy to see these young girls who want to be doctors giving a presentation on AIDS and HIV. May they not grow up and be tainted by a society who sweeps things and hides them under the carpet. Perhaps if as a nation we were more honest and open with each other then Libya would be a very different place.

[naziha10]

Silence is the killer.

Another taboo that no one in Libya wants to talk about: drug use, specifically heroin. The number of people visibly taking drugs has definitely increased in the five years I have been in Libya. People talk of a desperation that can be felt in the air at times, and with that desperation more and more people turn to drugs to melt away, loose themselves. And it is not just in the Medina that you find needles, but in “normal” neighbourhoods too, taken by “normal” people. Yet when someone is an addict people just say they are not well, or refer to religion, and even when I approach medics or even some members of civil society about the issue they say, “we don’t have this problem, no, not in Libya”. Its this very denial that stops young people (and old) being educated on the dangers of drugs, or even simply being aware of needle safety to limit the spread of infections, HIV and AIDS. Having relatives affected by this illness I know too well the story. Even after this cousin died, leaving behind children and a wife, people in the family still say he was just an alcoholic, or he was ill, or he had a heart attack at a young age. Anything but the truth. If people can get over the “shame” then perhaps more lives can be saved and their children wont make the same mistakes. Failing that a simple needle exchange unit would make a lot of difference and stop the secondary deaths through miseducation.

[naziha10]

Life goes on...

[naziha10]

I’ve had a few messages commenting on my absence on my blog... so here are a few moments to share, from a subject that fascinates me, darkness, or should I say light and the way it dances with darkness.

This is a subject I have explored in different ways in two recent exhibitions. One in Paris where I created a light, sound and visual installation as part of the Lumieres d’Afriques exhibition. The other was in Beirut for Mashallah News where I produced a photo essay on the intimacy and new discoveries we may find when the lights (and the internet!) goes out. 

The Beirut exhibition was a wonderful collision of cultures in the night, with some beautiful contributions, music and the launch of the series along with a little book... and the stories from around the MENA region are now available online. http://mashallahnews.com/night/lights-out-libya/

The other exhibition, Lumieres d’Afriques will be in Paris till the end of the year and then will be touring the world for the next 4 years. It features 54 amazing artists from Africa, one for each country, put together with a view to spark discussion about climate change, renewable energy and access to electricity, not only for Africa, but the world. Its part of the ArtsCop21 and was held at a very special building where the UN Declaration for Human Rights was first signed in 1948.

http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2015/11/24/l-afrique-allumee-au-palais-de-chaillot_4816447_3212.html

The pictures above are not from either series, but I just wanted to share this moment and remind myself that turnips by candlelight can be romantic too!

[naziha10]

“When you look at the stars, it’s a wonderful feeling. It’s like you’re in a spaceship. It brings you closer to God. You realise how huge space is.” - Khaled - Spacemaster

Sneak peak into Tripoli’s Planetarium by German Architect Ulrich Muther, coming soon in issue 51 of Brownbook Magazine. http://brownbook.tv/the-tripoli-planetarium/ 

Libya

[naziha10]

Here comes the bride(s)....

Wedding, Tripoli.

A look at weddings further south : http://brownbook.tv/perfect-pair/

[naziha10]

This guy always makes me smile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leoPHUJM0z0

[naziha10]

A well manned Tripoli checkpoint, Libya

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Women. Medina. Tripoli. Libya

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Football tournament at the Janzour Tawergha Camp for internally displaced Libyans. After almost 4years of living in camps they have been told that they can start making preparations for returning home. The Right to return was discussed at the recent UN 'Geneva dialogue'. Many are skeptical that this promise is just political talk to use as leverage in the peace talks, they believe it wont become a reality, others are hopeful.

[naziha10]

Tripoli from the heights of the Corinthia Hotel. A hotel which was then attacked in January 2015 killing 10 people, including many foreigners. The whispers that could be heard around the area all referred to Dash (the Arabic name for ISIS). Libya based Dash then went on to claim the attack.

Article I photographed for Monocle the week before

https://monocle.com/magazine/issues/80/frontline-services/ (for Monocle subscribers)

https://monocle.com/film/affairs/high-risk-hotels/ (for non subscribers)

[naziha10]

Scouts and youth of Tawergha at Janzour IDP camp, Tripoli.