Khaldun Bshara:
Palestinian architect
Director of the Conservation Unit /
Riwaq Centre. Awarded a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering from
BirZeit University, and MA in Conservation of Historic Towns
and Buildings from Catholic
University of Leuven, Belgium. Author and co-author of
number of books and articles; Ramallah, Architecture and History; “Breeze
from the North”; Riwaq’s Guidelines for Maintenance and Restoration of
Historic Buildings in Palestine. kbshara@yahoo.com.
Preservation under
occupation:
"Perhaps more than any other aspect of Palestinian material culture, the
Built Heritage is experiencing a rapid loss of its distinctive character.
Particularly disturbing is the state of negligence to old buildings all over
Palestine.
Valuable historic buildings are being bulldozed or abandoned, and allowed to
collapse only to be replaced by new constructions that echo no link with the
past architectural heritage. Traditional construction methods, building crafts,
know how, and skills are nearing extinction with the retirement and death of
master builders and craftspeople. The rest of the natural environment is also
undergoing devastating changes. The beautiful rocky landscape and
stone-terraces, typical of Palestinian landscape are being replaced by badly
finished concrete buildings." (Riwaq's
brochure)
Palestine
has always had a particularity that is not applicable to other countries
regarding safeguarding and conserving built cultural heritage. This reality
neither stems from unique building techniques nor from stone types used in the
historic buildings of the Holy Land, but rather
from the objectives and goals foreseen of these conservation works.
A
quick review of conservation works, implemented in Palestine for the past two
decades, indicates undoubtedly that the main objective of these operations if
not the sole, was the struggle against the Israeli occupation. The issues of
land liberation and putting down obstacles in front of Israeli occupational
measures played a major role in directing the largest portion of conservation
works in Palestine. This applies to the rehabilitation
works done in Hebron by the Hebron Rehabilitation
Committee to protect the Old City from the Jewish Settlers. It also
applies to the rehabilitation works implemented by the Welfare and the Waqf in
the Old City of Jerusalem to boost up the Palestinian presence in the City to be
used later as a pressure card in the peace agreement negotiations. Nonetheless,
the Bethlehem 2000 Committee implemented restoration works which shows not only
the interest in the place of Jesus birth but also it has been looked upon as a
political commitment to the Peace Process. Riwaq-Centre for Architectural
Conservation, as well, has been engaged in the Job Creation through Restoration
projects since 2002, a project with its main goal is to alleviate poverty and
help improvement of the economic situation of the Palestinians affected by the
Aqsa Intifada.
In preservation works under occupation, cultural heritage has
been in the heart of the Israeli-Arab conflict. A process doesn’t consider built
heritage as a possible reconciliation driving force, but as a substance for
conflict and a substance for making visible in space the historicity of the
struggling sides.
(ON) Lifta project
From
architect conservator point of view, Lifta stands as a reminder of a typical
evacuated Palestinian village during Arab-Israeli war 1948. Hence it has values
that vary from historical, architectural, and social values. Lifta provides us
with a reminder on one hand of the Palestinian lost landscape and dispersed
community, and on the other stands as ethnically cleansed village to be located
soon on the list of gentrified villages discriminating again the original
founders and owners of these spaces.
Hence,
we should advocate the preservation and restoration of Lifta village as an
example of the very few Arab villages remained intact in the heart of the
conflict. It also represents a social history reflected in the architecture and
urban setting (the mosque, the square, the spring, the oil press…). The place is
inseparable from its community and can not be understood without the people who
made it and used it. The ultimate success of a plan for Lifta would be the
return of the owners of these houses and let them get connected to their past.
In so doing, a reconciliation process could start not only among the
Palestinians and their history but also among the Arabs and Israelis. Any
solution which doesn’t take into account the correction of the historical
mistake of uprooting the Lifta citizens will be of no value especially know to
all of us that there are many Liftawis living some kilometres from their homes
in Jerusalem and under the Israeli jurisdictions.
An
international protection of the village is needed. It could start with media
campaign to shed light on the village and the discrimination policy of Israeli
state against the original Liftawis. A possible way also is to engage the UNESCO
in the protection of Lifta by nominating to the WHL, this process has to do with
the state and may be complicated. However, other possibility is to put and
nominate the village on the most 100 endangered buildings by the World Monument
Watch. We as professionals and the original owners could put together a
nomination form which has nothing to do with the state of Israel.
I believe also that the original owners living inside Israel could go
through Israeli courts supported by international bodies, and Israeli ICCOMOS
and Universities to halt the project. Sending the case to the Supreme Court will
be the ultimate confrontation with the State policies.
Khaldun
Bshara