CPDS Lecture: Bradley – Pictures, videos speak louder than words

By: Waleed M. Al-Meadana
10/07/2012

The Center for Political and Development Studies (CPDS) held on Tuesday, 10th of July, a lecture on "The Importance of Narrative." The lecture was delivered by Elaine Bradley, an Irish human rights activist and a volunteer consultant for the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR). Bradley shed light on the Israeli narrative and the means Palestinians should undertake to counter the Israeli propaganda.

Yousef Aljamal (left) and Elaine Bradley

"The Israeli regime skillfully constructed a narrative that is widely accepted in the international media," said Bradley. "As an activist, I've observed a growing movement that challenges the prevailing narrative [the Israeli narrative]," she added. She explained that decision-makers lack political will, so Palestinians need to target public opinion on global bases.

Humans tend to tell stories since the very early stages of their lives, and through telling their stories, they give a road map to the way our world works. Palestinians have to invest in this. "Humans have an innate need to give meanings to our existence and stories give us a template of meaning," said the Irish activist. Stories, or better narratives, contribute to our sense of identity. Questions like "who we are, where did we come from, how did the struggle begin, etc" consolidate one's self-recognition.

Social Media Importance
"Social media plays a leading role in the process of counteracting and revealing the truth. Facebook, Twitter, along with many other social websites are not but real means of communication to deliver our message to the people of the world. A man with a cell-phone camera, for example, captured two Israeli soldiers hitting a 9-year-old Palestinian child. This made a fuss worldwide," she continued.

A land without People to a People without a Land
"Israelis look at Palestinians as "a small population of… fellahin and wandering, lawless, blackmailing Bedouin tribes." Palestine has always been for them nothing but "a land without a people to a people without a land".

ends