Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Palestinian engineer Akram Al-Wara (56 years old) succeeded in his workshop located in the Aida camp, north of Bethlehem, in the south of the occupied West Bank, in transforming the remnants of Israeli killing tools into jewelry and antiques that reflect the situation and reality of the camp in which he lives.
The Palestinian turns the rugged gas and sound bombs that brought tears and blood to many of the camp's residents into decorative ornaments and antiques that reflect the Palestinian reality and tell the stories of the issue.
The map of Palestine, the key to return, the occupation tower and its separation wall... antiques that the rugged engineer masters in making from the remnants of the occupation in order to sell them to his foreign tourist clients.
Al-Waraa told Safa Agency that, through this art, he sends messages to his visitors through his artistic artifacts, and provides an explanation about the reality of the camp and the suffering of its refugee residents.
He added, "He was able to transform the Israeli killing tool into antiques that carry the message of our people, and replaced it with artifacts that make people happy and convey reassurance and peace instead of fear and killing."
The occupation forces use live bullets, rubber bullets, gas bombs, and sound bombs to target young men during confrontations and to disperse protests and demonstrations.
Al-Wara explains that he started his project in 2014, during the occupation’s aggression against the Gaza Strip and the outbreak of confrontations in the West Bank. He collected tear gas canisters fired by the occupation soldiers towards young men during the confrontations, and began turning them into decorative pieces.
He points out that he closed his workshop for a very long time due to its location close to the wall and in the middle of the battlefield with the occupation, which caused him very large financial losses.
In the midst of his quest and search for solutions to get out of the financial impasse, Al-Wara points out that he decided to recycle the bombs into antiques and ornaments, to achieve a victory with his ingenuity and art over the Israeli killing machine and change its meanings and uses.
He notes that the Aida camp in particular lives under an almost daily barrage of gas bombs and bullets fired by the occupation towards young men to disperse them.
It appears that international studies have revealed that “Aida camp is the spot most exposed to tear gas in the world.”
He explains that he forms his products using simple equipment, as the bomb parts, after being dismantled, go through several stages to be processed and transformed into usable materials, without causing any harm to their owners.
Al-Wara is a refugee from the village of Deir Aban, west of occupied Jerusalem, and is a civil engineer who excels in making antiques and gifts.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Aida camp was established in 1948. Its area is 115 dunums and is inhabited by about 3,179 refugees.
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