Parceles of land
By proposing to the farmers I met in Israel and in the Palestinian territories to write on their portrait, I try to understand the diversity of this agricultural population by questioning their attachment to the land.
Kibbutz of Nahal Oz (Israel), 29 November 2021. Portrait of Azan, Palestinian, 45 years old, from Jenin in the West Bank. He has been working here for four years on the farm of the Nahal Oz kibbutz. "Work is worship. My work is my livelihood and that of my family. I feel happiness when I do my work well and I hope to be healthy enough to continue working (...)", Azan wrote around his portrait.
Kibbutz of Nahal Oz (Israel), 29 November 2021. "Happy to work in the banana plantation", this Thai worker wrote above his portrait. Underneath he adds : "For a better life, for the family".
"I work in the dairy cow shed from the age of 13.
Anan, 39 years old, is a Thai farm worker. He has been working on the Nahal Oz kibbutz farm for two years. "I am happy every time I go to work in the banana plantation. We are always ready to fight for our family", Anan wrote around his portrait.
Kibbutz of Nahal Oz, 24 November 2021.
"I come to work in Israel. I am satisfied with my work and my income for my family", wrote this thai worker in the Kibbutz of Nahal Oz.
Tulkarem, 03 December 2021. "If the people ever want to live, fate is obliged to open the way. Freedom is a hope for all time. Today is Palestinian Land Day and it is one of the most important days of my life," Mona wrote around her portrait. She is an organic farmer with her husband Fahez in Tulkarem.
Work is worship. My work is my livelihood and those of my family. I feel happiness when I do my work well and I hope to be healthy to be able to continue to work (...)", wrote Azan, Palestinian, 45 in the Kibbutz of Nahal Oz (Israel).
"Earth means life. There is no life without land. Here, in Palestine. The occupation steals the land. Stop stealing our lives. We refuse to die silently", writes Fahez, a palestinian worker in Tulkarem (West Bank).