One of the projects I’m working to establish is an online, transmedia platform called, ‘All Unicorns Are Terrorists.’ Essentially, the idea is for AUAT to become a haven for multiplatform concepts which set out to provide a holistic or different representation of ethno-racial, religious and cultural groups that are regularly sensationalised by mainstream news media.
I know I may have harped on about this before but I really believe that we are all (to greater and lesser degrees) casualties of this industry which is masterful at dehumanising people and expert at reducing diverse groups of individuals into something uniform and often, scary. We are rarely given a glimpse of “the other”, that is three dimensional, real and truly affecting. Regardless of our geographic or cultural differences, we are all human beings with our own unique perspectives and dreams – and it is these distinctions that help us form connections. So in essence, the idea is to feature transmedia projects on AUAT that will transform this type of sensationalism into something engaging and informative, something that reminds us that there are always more experiences to be shared than feared. The first of these projects – which I have just started working on with a dear friend and colleague – will focus on some remarkable stories of remarkable Palestinian women. One of the inspiring women to be featured is Shireen Al-Araj, a community leader and activist from al Wallaje village – a magnificent slice of countryside which continues to be systematically stolen from the community who live there for illegal settlement expansion and separation wall “extensions”. Shireen regularly leads community demonstrations and non-violent initiatives which call for an end to these activities. Here’s a taste of this strong and fearless woman in action recently on Naksa Day (please forgive the heavy compression) :