Al-Bireh – Ma’an – Al-Bireh Municipality today opened the headquarters of the Qamat Foundation for Documenting the Palestinian Struggle in the historic Aliya Akram Al-Mansi Hamidan building, which was restored and rehabilitated with funding from Arab and Islamic funds, and under the supervision of the Palestinian Popular Architecture Center “Riwaq”.

This was held under the patronage of Minister Nasser Qatami, Advisor to the Prime Minister for Arab and Islamic Funds, and Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Hani Al-Hayek, with the participation of Acting Mayor of Al-Bireh Eng. Robin Al-Khatib, owner of the building Hajja Najwa Humaidan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities Saleh Tawafsha, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Qamat Anas Al-Usta, and a representative of “Riwaq” Eng. Shaza Assaf, and a number of members of the Al-Bireh Municipality Council and its staff, in addition to a number of supporters and volunteers of “Qamat” and interested parties.

At the beginning of the opening,
it was noted that the event included a silent nature out of respect for Gaza and the blood of the martyrs in Palestine and Lebanon; as it lacked the traditional celebratory nature and the remembrance of struggle experiences and stories from the journey of figures over seven years.

Al Khatib stressed that the rehabilitation of the Aliya Hamidan building comes within the municipality’s vision to preserve the historical and cultural heritage and our national identity, stressing that this project represents a model that we are proud of for the restoration of historical buildings, and many similar projects will be repeated and built upon in cooperation with our partners to provide these buildings for youth institutions that will restore life and spirit to these historical landmarks.

Al-Qatami said: ‘We are fighting the battle of the narrative to embody our rights on the land,’ expressing the readiness of Arab and Islamic funds to support more projects aimed at confirming our narrative and preserving our history.

For her part, Assaf said that this project comes at a time when we are witnessing a human and cultural genocide, reviewing a UNESCO report on the occupation’s attacks on historical, cultural and religious landmarks with the aim of erasing the Palestinian identity. This prompts us to work more together to preserve our historical heritage.

Al-Haik spoke about the Ministry of Tourism’s plan to preserve and revive historical sites through cultural events, stressing the need to work on restoring and maintaining archaeological and historical sites.

In his speech, Al-Usta thanked all the supporting and partnering parties whose efforts combined to preserve a spatial and moral legacy that will turn into a place that contributes to preserving Palestinian human struggle experiences, calling for providing all the components that support the message of Qamaat and its goals.

During the opening, a visual narrative work was shown about the rehabilitation of the building, and a documentary film about the Qamat Foundation a
nd its programmes.

For her part, Hamidan called on the residents to adopt this project as a living model, and to implement similar projects by donating the historical buildings they own to national institutions.

At the end of the event, the supporting and partnering entities were honored and an introductory tour was conducted inside the headquarters.

Source: Maan News Agency