WITH the beginning of March, the premier episode of a 90 part series, “Sleepless in Gaza and Jerusalem” was launched on YouTube. It is a reality TV show that reflects the hardships of life from a humanitarian perspective in Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank. It is a video diary, narrated in English about four young Palestinian women, Muslims and Christians, two living in Gaza and two in Arab Jerusalem/West Bank. Each episode runs for 26 minutes, shot in Jerusalem/West Bank and Gaza, edited and uploaded on the same day. The intention of this series is neither rant nor rhetoric. It is rather an opportunity for everyone, who does not live in Gaza, occupied Arab Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, to grasp how these four young Palestinian women live out their daily lives, precisely because their lives are stories journalists are taught almost dismissively to think of as ‘human interest' and almost necessarily conflict driven. How, as human beings, these four Palestinians can also experience moments of personal and community achievement, and the warmth of friends and family life that in real life is possible even in the most difficult circumstances of siege and occupation. The episodes' team does not have a website yet, but their partners PINA TV Productions' website will serve as such for the time being at www.pina.ps.
