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NDTV
3 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
How A Gaza Refugee Artist Embroiders Her 'Pain' On Canvas
France: In her new Paris home, Palestinian artist Maha Al-Daya pulled a needle and thread through material as news for war-torn Gaza blared in the background. "Before the war I used to embroider for happy occasions, but today I stitch away my pain," said the 41-year-old visual artist, who also paints. Daya, her husband, and three children -- aged eight, 15, and 18 -- are among several hundreds of Palestinians to have been granted a visa to France since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023. Stitch after stitch, Daya embroiders impressions of the war onto drab-coloured material. In one work, she has stitched red thread over most of a map of Gaza to show areas ravaged by now more than 21 months of war. In another, Daya has sewn the Arabic words "Stop the genocide" in black wool. Rights groups, lawyers, and some Israeli historians have described the Gaza war as "genocide". Israel, created in the aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust of Jews during World War II, vehemently rejects the accusation. From wedding dresses to war Palestinians have for centuries painstakingly sewn long black dresses and adorned them with stark red embroidery, in designs still worn today in rural areas and at weddings or other celebrations. But today, Daya is using it to highlight the suffering of two million Gazans in the latest Israeli bombardment campaign against the besieged Palestinian territory. Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, leading to the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Of the 251 people taken hostage that day, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27, the Israeli military says, are dead. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed 58,895 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Humanitarian groups say Gaza's population is facing famine-like conditions. In April this year, Daya met French President Emmanuel Macron to show him her work when it was exhibited at the French capital's Arab World Institute. She says she gave him an embroidery bearing the words "Where are we going to go now?" "Everybody is always saying this because we're always being displaced," Daya said. 'Just a few days' Daya and her family lived through six months of conflict in Gaza before they were able to escape the Palestinian territory. Just days after the war started, she and her children fled their home in Gaza City -- and its flowered balcony -- with just some clothes stuffed into backpacks. "I thought, it's just for a few days, we'll be back," she said. "We had no idea it would last for so long." They found refuge with friends of a nephew in the southern city of Khan Younis -- people they had never met before but who were incredibly kind to them, she said. But in mid-December, bombardment hit that house, gravely wounding two of her nephews, one of whom had to undergo an amputation. They then lived in a tent for four months. "The cold was unbearable. In winter, rain would come inside," she said. But they had heard of a Cairo-based agency that could put their names on a list so they could leave via the crossing point with Egypt for a fee of $4,000 a person. A Bethlehem artist raised the funds to pay in exchange for future works by her and her husband, also an artist. 'Difficult to find peace' In Cairo, she started embroidering. Her husband picked up a paint brush again. "We were like birds who had been freed from their cage," she said. A non-profit set up to help Gaza artists called Maan helped her apply for PAUSE, a French government programme for researchers and artists in need. Her application was accepted by Sciences Po and the Paris-based branch of Columbia University. After nine months in Egypt, the family landed in Paris. Daya started attending French courses in the morning and embroidering in the afternoon. In the evening, she joins her family in the university residence where they now live. Yaffa, eight years old, Rima, 15, and Adam, 18, are back in school. "When I arrived here, I was happy," she said. "But at the same time, there's a sort of internal pain. While there's still war over there, while people are dying, it's difficult to find peace." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
France 24
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Paris neighbourhoods: Discovering the ancient 5th arrondissement
In this edition of French Connections, Genie Godula and Florence Villeminot take you to the oldest district in Paris: the fifth arrondissement. First built by the Romans as part of the ancient city of Lutetia, the 5th is also a very young area, filled with students from several top universities and some of the best prep schools in France. The area is a window into Arab culture as well. It's home to both France's biggest mosque and the incredible Arab World Institute. Join us for a tour of the Latin Quarter and beyond.
France 24
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Telling Gaza's story beyond the rubble
Culture 11:42 In this episode of Arts 24, Eve Jackson speaks with Arab Nasser, co-director of "Once Upon a Time in Gaza" – a striking, Cannes‑awarded film that reframes Gaza not through destruction, but through resilience, surrealism and cinematic boldness. Blending genre and personal memory, the film offers a hauntingly beautiful portrait of life under siege. Also featured: "Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk", a deeply moving documentary centered on Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona, who was killed by an Israeli air strike on April 16, just one day after the film was selected for Cannes' ACID sidebar. Her death underscores the urgency and danger of documenting life in Gaza. This episode also examines a rare exhibition of Gaza's ancient treasures at the Arab World Institute in Paris – a powerful reminder that Gaza is not only a site of suffering, but also of civilisation and cultural legacy.
Le Figaro
24-06-2025
- Science
- Le Figaro
Young Inventors Prize 2025: France's Marie Perrin Wins for Breakthrough in Rare Earth Recycling
Réservé aux abonnés All under 30, they aim to change the world. Four of the ten finalists received awards on June 18 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Their technologies tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time. What were you up to when you were 25? These young inventors are developing solutions that could soon transform our daily lives — extending the shelf life of fresh fruit, recycling rare earth elements, and turning CO₂ into clothing. The Young Inventors Prize, awarded by the European Patent Office, rewards innovators under the age of 30 who are using technology to respond to major global challenges, in line with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2025 edition, broadcast live worldwide, featured ten finalists selected from 450 applicants. Three of them were awarded prizes by a jury of former winners, and a fourth, the People's Choice Award, received a prize of 15,000 euros – in addition to the 5,000 euros awarded to each finalist. À lire aussi At the Arab World Institute: Gaza's Rescued Treasures, Witnesses to a Deep History Among the winners was Marie Perrin, distinguished in the 'World Builders' category. The French-American chemist is tackling one of today's critical geopolitical challenges: the recycling of rare earths. Essential to modern technologies (from…
Le Figaro
17-06-2025
- General
- Le Figaro
At the Arab World Institute: Gaza's Rescued Treasures, Witnesses to a Deep History
The Paris museum is reopening the crates of ancient artifacts unearthed in the Palestinian territory. For years, this heritage has been in exile in Geneva due to the conflict with Israel. A Byzantine mosaic with an animal theme welcomes visitors to the Arab World Institute (IMA) in Paris. Among the depictions of exotic wild animals, a rabbit attempts to climb a palm tree. This is just about the only joyful note in this exhibition of Gaza's rescued treasures. Among the amphorae, statuettes, funerary steles, clay oil lamps and enormous stone anchors and mooring rings, a beautiful Aphrodite stands out. This white marble statue sits alongside a translucent alabaster vase adorned with lotuses, as well as a stunning treasure of 17,000 pieces of agglomerated silver. This currency was in use during the Byzantine period. À lire aussi It's Official: Wealth Comes at the Cost of Sleep These 130 artifacts are the result of joint Franco-Palestinian excavations undertaken in 1995 on the coastal strip, following the Oslo Accords. The excavations were led by the local antiquities service and the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem (EBAF), which was founded in 1890 and is the oldest research center in these fields in the Holy Land. An exile that began in 2000 Some artifacts also come from the collection of Jawdat Khoudary, a Palestinian who made his fortune in the construction industry. He donated his entire collection to the Palestinian National Authority in 2018. In 2023, when the bombings in response to Hamas' terrorist attack began, most of it was housed in his villa in northern Gaza. It was a private museum, the only one in the area, pending the construction of a public museum. The Israeli army turned it into a command base and transformed the garden into a tank depot. More than 4,000 objects, including an avenue of columns and capitals, are missing or seriously damaged, according to a cartel. What we see at the IMA, however, was safely preserved in crates which were stored at the Geneva Freeport. The exile of this lot began in 2000. While they were waiting to join the future public museum in Gaza, the artifacts were on embassy tours to various European museums, including the IMA. When, after Hamas seized power in the enclave in 2006, the blockade prevented their return there, the Geneva Museum of Art and History, the site of their final stop, took charge of their conservation. À lire aussi The Astonishing Life of Nude Models, Heirs to an Artistic Tradition in Decline 'These pieces are survivors,' says Jean-Baptiste Humbert, a prominent figure among the Dominican friars, who led the excavations from their beginnings until the end of 2023. Humbert notably presided over the discovery of Anthedon, a fortified port dating back to the 8th century BC. 'The extent of the damage caused by recent bombardments is unknown,' the statement reads as we walk past the photos and plans of the site. 'All this heritage is in transit or exile, like most Gazans,' comment scenographers Elias and Yousef Anastas, Palestinian architects living between Paris and Bethlehem. To convey this notion, they created wheeled display stands for these treasures. 'You have before you the witnesses of some five thousand years of history,' says Élodie Bouffard, head of exhibitions at the IMA and curator of this event. Since the Bronze Age, Gaza has been an oasis at the crossroads of maritime and caravan routes. Three hundred sites of heritage interest have been identified there. The influence of multiple civilizations was evident: Canaanite, Egyptian, Philistine, Neo-Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Arab. This represents 365 square kilometers of trade and prosperity punctuated by wars and humanitarian crises. 94 points of historical, cultural or religious interest, damaged or ravaged As with the foundations of the port of Anthédon, the Saint Hilarion monastery with its fabulous Paradise mosaic — a site UNESCO included on its list of World Heritage in Danger in the summer of 2024 — or Qasr al-Basha, the Pasha's Palace, a relic of the 13th century, where Napoleon Bonaparte slept for a few nights during his Egyptian campaign, a physical inventory is being compiled as much as possible. The EBAF warehouse itself is under rubble, along with its archives, shards and papers alike. Was there looting? No one knows, not even René Elter, Jean-Baptiste Humbert's successor. Maps on the walls give the full measure of the tragedy. On March 25, based on satellite images, UNESCO inventoried 94 damaged or ravaged sites of historical, cultural or religious interest. There's an immense contrast between the apocalypse depicted in recent photographs and the previously unpublished pictures of the Gaza oasis at the beginning of the 20th century. These are modern prints from the EBAF's collection of glass plates, documenting life between 1905 and 1926. Has October 7, 2023, also destroyed this deep history? Fortunately, many have deployed great energy to preserve this history, including the 40 students of Intiqal ('transmission' in Arabic). Since 2017, this program has been implemented in Palestine by the NGO Première Urgence Internationale, with the support of EBAF, the French Development Agency, the British Council and the Aliph Foundation, the world's leading fund dedicated to the protection or rehabilitation of heritage weakened by war, climate change or natural disasters. Nothing will be easy in this area, where two-thirds of the buildings are in ruins and their surroundings are not yet safe. But everyone believes it's not impossible. 'Rescued Treasures from Gaza: 5000 Years of History,' at the Arab World Institute (Paris 5th arrondissement), until November 2. Tel.: +33 1 40 51 38 38.
