ANERA Pledges to Raise More Money to Aid Palestinian Projects.

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Author: Powell, Sara

American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) hosted its annual dinner Sept. 17 in Washington, DC, where it is based, on the theme, "Education Creates the Future." A reception beforehand featured beautiful handicrafts and art to be bid on at a silent auction to raise funds for ANERAs ongoing projects to aid refugees.

Founded in 1968, ANERA has worked with 3.2 million Palestinians under occupation, 60 percent of whom live below the poverty line on less than $2 a day. Last year ANERA distributed more than $13 million in medical and relief supplies, including daily nutritional snacks to preschoolers.

At the dinner, ANERA honored many of its loyal long-term donors, including Marjorie Anderson, a retired teacher from Pennsylvania, and retired Ambassador Richard Parker of Washington, DC. ANERA also payed tribute to the group Playgrounds for Palestine (PFP), founded in 2001 by Susan Abulhawa to provide traumatized Palestinian children living under occupation with a place to experience some of the normal joys of childhood. ANERA aided PFP in the construction of playgrounds in Hebron and Bethlehem in the West Bank, and in Khan Younis and Rafah in Gaza. Other playgrounds are planned.

The evening's guest speaker was Moa'taz Dajani, the executive director of Al Jana, Arab Resource Center for the Popular Arts, located in Beirut, Lebanon. Dajani presented a screening depicting some of the programs Palestinian refugee children have participated in throughout Lebanon. Children are first encouraged to record their lives and histories in written and photographic form, he explained, while older children are given video cameras to produce films. The theme of the projects is to encourage refugee children to express and claim their rights and their identity. For more information, or to make a donation, visit ANERA's Web site, <www.anera.org>.

PHOTO (COLOR): Moa'taz Dajani describes refugee children's art projects.

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By Sara Powell