The Stadium: Sustaining Relations
Contributor: Bisan Al-Ja’fari

The stadium emerges from a hill located about 10 minutes on foot from Al-Arroub refugee camp. The idea to build the stadium originated from the will of the Popular Committee (the camp’s governing body) to construct something for their community in response to the lack of activities and public spaces. In 2009, they decided to dig into a rugged hill adjacent to the camp. Categorized as area C land, thus under full Israeli military control, it is almost impossible to construct anything here, let alone a stadium. Building on this hill was a clear act in defiance of these restrictions.

The initiatives included in these booklets are the result of a collective effort made by the Campus in Camps participants in dialogue with community members, associations and collaborators. They have been inspired through dialogue with Sandi Hilal, Munir Fasheh, Alessandro Petti and activated with Tamara Abu Laban, BraveNewAlps, Ayman Khalifah, Matteo Guidi, Sara Pellegrini, Giuliana Racco, Diego Segatto, Dena Qaddumi.

Related Activities

→March 30, 2013 – Public Presentation: Community Spaces in Arroub

At the beginning of the second year of Campus in Camps, Bisan recognized that the stadium by Arroub refugee camp is not just a place with a nice view; it is a meaningful model for the sense of well-being of the camp community. Subsequently, she arranged a public meeting with the Popular Committee of Arroub, in order to speak about the process of building this place. During this fruitful discussion, committee leader Abu Khiran offered be part of Bisan’s project and to help activate this common space, particularly concerning women’s activities.
A youth group from Arroub also spoke about their camp cleaning activities and expressed their interest in working with Bisan in her material recycling and reusing initiative.

→August 28, 2013- Recycling Material

Camps are crowded places where it is common to see garbage discarded in shared spaces. The residents predominantly live in poverty, thus the reuse of sustainable materials would not only improve the cleanliness of the camp but also save money. Furthermore, if utilized to their full potential, they could even generate income. With this in mind, we invited Suhaila, an Arroub camp resident and expert in reusing material, to lead a woman’s recycling workshop. The event was held in the stadium and brought together local women and women from Al-Fawwar refugee camp in order to build community relationships between camps and practice sustainability.