Building the Palestinian Archive Project at BZU: an attempt to prevent the destruction of Palestinian identity and history - Highlights

Since history is the past of a nation, it is of vital
importance to preserve. This is particularly true in the Palestinian case, in which
history constitutes an important site of struggle against occupation and also validates
Palestinians’ denied rights.

In recognition of the importance of Palestinian history, BZU
has sought through the Ibrahim Abu Lughod Institute of International Studies,
to build a Palestinian archive that works to preserve valuable documents.

The idea of ​​the project "Building the Palestinian
Archive" is inspired by the huge amount of material available but as yet
uncollected in a single location. Thus, the project works to ensure its collection
and conservation. The archived materials will inform people of Palestinian realities,
and will focus on collecting documents from non-governmental organizations,
families and individuals, that are related to history, politics, society, and in
particular oral history.

Professor of International Studies Dr. Roger Heacock, who is
involved in the project, summarized the project’s work thus far, saying:
"We have visited a series of non-governmental organizations in the
governorates of Ramallah and Al Bireh, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem. We need to
intensify our efforts in the second phase, concentrating on two aspects: first,
networking with organizations in the northern governorates such as Nablus,
Jenin and elsewhere; second, returning to the places visited previously to
complete the archiving process. In the event of the continuity and expansion of
the project, it certainly should include Gaza, in addition to the collection of
documents stored in neighboring countries, in particular Lebanon."

For those interested in obtaining
the classified documents, you can visit the Palestinian archive site on the following
link: http://awraq.birzeit.edu/