Nici Marx

A Day-In-The-Life-Of a Media Consultant in Palestine,2007

 Ramallah, June 2007

 A normal day with the usual tasks to tackle. Except that there is no "normal" or "usual" in this part of the world, as each day brings the promise, or threat, of changes which can unutterably alter peoples' lives.

I was on one of my frequent trips to the West Bank, pondering a question which had been preying on my mind since my arrival in  East Jerusalem four months previously: How do I raise visibility for an EU project in the Palestinian and international media in a region which already dominates the headlines? It was some twenty years since I had first visited the Palestinian Territories, and while the political and socio-economic landscape had changed, Palestinian perceptions of Western intervention were still laced with suspicion and distrust.

I'd been drafted in as a Communications Expert to work for the EU's Temporary International Mechanism (TIM). Following the victory of the Islamist movement, Hamas, in the January 2006 elections, and the ensuing withdrawal of direct financial aid to the Palestinian Authority by the international community, the TIM was created in order to alleviate a worsening humanitarian crisis amid deteriorating fiscal and socio-economic conditions. Worthy work perhaps, but how to counterbalance the focus groups and opinion polls which showed that Western interest in Gaza and the West Bank was held in contempt by many Palestinians. My day's mission in the West Bank town of Ramallah then, would prove enlightening, What view would the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation and Al Jazeera take of my efforts to employ their radio and TV stations to spread the word about TIM assistance in the Territories?

 As always, the welcome and hospitality were faultless. It was especially impressive to be served sweet tea while my host at Al Jazeera was receiving 'phone threats against him and his staff throughout our meeting. And the sipping of intense, strong, Arabic coffee at the offices of the Palestinian Broadcasting  Corporation was punctuated by the almost casual announcement that three PBC staff had been kidnapped the previous day in Gaza during factional fighting between Fatah and Hamas, fate unknown.

But what I learned from my meetings is that talk is cheap here, not in the political sense, but in terms of using the airwaves to broadcast any message you wish to be heard. The cost of broadcasting an infomercial about the TIM on radio and television stations right across the West Bank and Gaza for a period of two weeks proved no more costly than a fornight's luxury holiday for two on an Indian Ocean island. Palestinians have a saying here: that they live their lives "for free".  Sadly, most lack the means or opportunity to live life to the full. 

Ramallah, June 2007

 A normal day with the usual tasks to tackle. Except that there is no "normal" or "usual" in this part of the world, as each day bring the promise, or threat, of changes which can unutterably alter peoples' lives.

I was on one of my frequent trips to the West Bank, pondering a question which had been praying on my mind since my arrival in  East Jerusalem four months previously: How do I raise visibility for an EU project in the Palestinian and international media in a region which already dominates the headlines? It was some twenty years since I had first visited the Palestinian Territories, and while the political and socio-economic landscape had changed, Palestinian perceptions of Western intervention were still laced with suspicion and distrust.

I'd been drafted in as a Communications Expert to work for the EU's Temporary International Mechanism (TIM). Following the victory of the Islamist movement, Hamas, in the January 2006 elections, and the ensuing withdrawal of direct financial aid to the Palestinian Authority by the international community, the TIM was created in order to alleviate a worsening humanitarian crisis amid deteriorating fiscal and socio-economic conditions. Worthy work perhaps, but how to counterbalance the focus groups and opinion polls which showed that Western interest in Gaza and the West Bank was held in contempt by many Palestinians. My day's mission in the West Bank town of Ramallah then, would prove enlightening, What view would the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation and Al Jazeera take of my efforts to employ their radio and TV stations to spread the word about TIM assistance in the Territories?

 As always, the welcome and hospitality were faultless. It was especially impressive to be served sweet tea while my host at Al Jazeera was receiving 'phone threats against him and his staff throughout our meeting. And the sipping of intense, strong, Arabic coffee at the offices of the Palestinian Broadcasting  Corporation was punctuated by the almost casual announcement that three PBC staff had been kidnapped in Gaza during factional fighting between Fatah and Hamas the previous day, fate unknown.

But what I learned from my meetings is that talk is cheap here, not in the political sense, but in terms of using the airwaves to broadcast any message you wish to be heard. The cost of broadcasting an infomercial about the TIM on radio and television stations right across the West Bank and Gaza for a period of two weeks proved no more costly than a fornight's luxury holiday for a couple on an island in the Indian Ocean. Palestinians have a saying here: that they live their lives "for free".  Sadly, most lack the means or opportunity to live life to the full.