Rima Hassan’s Photo Exhibition at Tunis Jaou Festival Raises Concerns

Faces completely camouflaged by keffiyehs, these black and white checked fabrics that are symbols of Palestinian nationalism. Then, right next to them, these same faces, uncovered this time, revealing a name, a story. A juxtaposition and an intention, that of “to bring to life the confinement of the camp, to make one feel the disconnection, the distance from the world”explains Rima Hassan, 32, who will exhibit portraits of six Palestinian refugees from October 9 to November 9 in Tunis, on the occasion of the Jaou festival, the contemporary art biennial financed by the foundation of Tunisian-Swiss businessman Kamel Lazaar.

A first for the Franco-Palestinian activist and MEP for La France insoumise (LFI), who is delivering the artistic aspect of Nakba Survivorhis long-term project intended to “making Palestinian refugees visible”these descendants of the Nakba, the exodus of 1948 that forced Palestinians to leave their land to settle in camps in Syria, Lebanon or Jordan, at the time of the birth of Israel. After contemplating the portraits, the visitor will immerse themselves in the atmosphere of these camps thanks to video capsules filmed on site. Finally, a mosaic of photos taken by the inhabitants themselves will show a more raw, de-aestheticized face of the daily life of these stateless people with a unique status in the world.

In Tunis, the MEP, who became known in France by becoming the figurehead of LFI’s European campaign, focused on the war in Gaza, arrives on conquered ground. The Palestinian cause is a consensus across the political class, to the point that the Tunisian Parliament almost voted, in November 2023, a law criminalizing any relationship with Israel. The head of state, Kaïs Saïed, has always claimed his anti-Zionism, joined in this by a large part of the youth, who have called for a boycott of brands or products linked to the Hebrew state.

In France, the young woman had taken a number of divisive positions, for example describing Israel as “nameless monstrosity”end of May. “Outside Western hegemonic thinking, no one considers October 7 an act of terrorism”she wrote in August on the social network X, sparking indignation even within the ranks of the New Popular Front.

Political project

Rima Hassan claims a project that is above all artistic. It is also eminently political. She wanted, she says, to experiment with a “another way to embrace activist activity” to raise awareness of this cause that she has been supporting for a long time. “These 5.8 million refugees are a component of the Palestinian people. However, no one talks about their history, their daily lives in the camps, their hopes. There are five generations waiting for a political solution.”she justifies. She herself grew up in the Nayrab camp in Syria before emigrating to France with her mother at the age of 10.

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