Two short films on the plight of Palestinians by British filmmaker and human rights advocate Farah Nabulsi will be presented by Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies on Tuesday, March 7.

“Oceans of Injustice” and “Today They Took My Son” will be shown at 6 p.m. in the College of Education, room CE-106. In addition, an audio piece, “The Nightmare of Gaza,” will be presented. The event is free and open to the public; parking at CSUSB is $6.

“We decided to bring Nabulsi because it is very important to educate the American people on how our tax money contributes to the suffering of thousands of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention, “said Ahlam Muhtaseb, interim director of CIMES and professor of communication studies at CSUSB.

“According to Defense for Children International, ‘Israel is the only country in the world that automatically prosecutes children in military courts that lack basic and fundamental fair trial guarantees. Since 2000, at least 8,000 Palestinian children have been arrested and prosecuted in an Israeli military detention system notorious for the systematic ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian children,’” Muhtaseb said. “What is more horrifying is the fact that children of Israeli settlers in the West Bank are treated differently from Palestinian children. and are persecuted in civilian courts. not military ones.

The three projects aim to shine light on the injustices suffered by Palestinians who have been forced from their homes. On her website, Nabulsi, who was once a banker for JP Morgan, says that she had thought she understood the injustices suffered by her people.

“But seeing it first-hand during a visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territories changed her in a deep and overwhelming way,” according to her website. “Witnessing the treatment of children was particularly harrowing and she kept thinking ‘what if that was my child?’”

In response, she founded the media production company Native Liberty, “a not-for-profit media production company that aims to rehumanize the Palestinians and draw attention to the injustices they face,” its website says.

Its three projects thus far:

  • “Oceans of Injustice,” released in 2016, is a 10-minute film that depicts the journeys of Palestinian people as they flee their lands and resort to seas for virtual safety. The film also has its own advocacy website, OceansofInjustice.com.
  • “Today They Took My Son,” released this year, is about a mother coping with the taking of her young son by a military system and facing cruel and inhumane treatment; the film says more than 700 Palestinian children each year face a similar fate.
  • “The Nightmare of Gaza,” described as “a haunting audio journey of a woman in the streets of Gaza after the bombs cease. She has been helping others, but then realizes it is her who now needs the help.”

Nabulsi was born and raised in London, the daughter of Palestinians living in diaspora who — unlike millions who remain stateless in refugee camps — were fortunate enough to make a home in Great Britain in the 1970s. Though she began a career as a banker, she went on to build a children-focused business that she ran for 10 years.

Of starting the production company Native Liberty, Nabulsi said, “The arts play a crucial role in changing the world and film trumps them all. It gives voices to the silenced. And hearing those voices helps build the mutual understanding needed to effect change.”

The film screenings and Nabulsi’s visit are being presented by CIMES in cooperation with the CSUSB Department of Communication Studies and the Mediterranean Studies Academy.

For questions, please contact Professor Ahlam Muhtaseb, interim director of the Center for Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at amuhtase@csusb.edu.