The remnants of the occupation kept him from sight in 2002, but he continued his journey in a unique way
A blind Palestinian who keeps the heritage of "straw" from disappearing
Hayat Industries produced by Salama.
Emirates today
Various shapes of straw products made by Emad and his colleagues.
Emirates today
picture
With great precision, the young man, Imad Salameh, feels, with both hands, wooden planks with close holes, holding bundles of straw, to insert them inside those holes, repeating this process with a metal wire, to produce in the end all kinds of brooms and household tools, made of handmade straw.
The young Imad Salama, 32 years old, from the Al-Yasmina neighborhood in the old city of Nablus, was able with the strength of his determination and firmness to defeat his illness and his disability, in order to preserve the heritage of his ancestors and fathers, although he lost his eyesight and was completely blind, as a result of his injury from the remnants of the occupation During his invasion of the city in 2002, when Salama was 12 years old at the time.
The blind young man, who is a father of a child and a girl, goes daily inside an old workshop in his old town, affiliated to the Association for the Care of the Blind, to weave with both hands handicrafts of various varieties and various shapes of straw, which began to disappear in light of the spread of mechanical products, and moving away from traditional handicrafts.
The beginning of a change
Emirates Today met the young Imad Salama in the technical workshop of the Association for the Care of the Blind in the city of Nablus, which was established 66 years ago. He was involved in the production of straw brooms with high craftsmanship, relying on his hands, and his experience gained over the past years.
The young Salameh recounts his injury that completely changed the course of his life, as he says: “On April 16, 2002, my friends and I went out to clean the streets of our town from the remnants of the occupation, after the withdrawal of his forces after a military incursion into Nablus, and during that a bomb exploded and injured all of us.” .
He adds: “The last picture I saw in my life, before I lost my sight, was the scene of the big explosion that caused the most severe tragedy that I have faced throughout my life. As a result, I became completely blind, despite many surgeries in dozens of hospitals inside and outside Palestine, along with shrapnel. The explosive bombs that are still lodged in my body due to the failure to extract them. ”
Due to the severity of the physical and moral pain caused by the injury of the young Salama, it was difficult at first to accept the condition that he had become in overnight, due to his complete loss of vision, but with the passage of time he adapted to his health condition and was able to overcome his ordeal in a unique way.
He added: “Despite the ugliness of the injury that made me blind, I decided to continue my life, overcoming all the pains, and bypassing all the obstacles that stood in the way of the path of will and defiance. Even if the injury deprived me of my eyesight, I did not lack the spirit of insight, and from here was the beginning of the change for the better. ».
Preserving heritage
Young Imad joined the straw profession within the Association for the Care of the Blind in 2009, during which he became acquainted with the hand-made straw industries of all kinds, to become a skilled craftsman in this heritage profession, in addition to learning the Braille language, to become a teacher for future generations.
Salameh says, "In the Association for the Care of the Blind, I learned straw industries from one of its members, and mastered this profession as quickly as possible, and became a professional in producing all kinds of traditional handmade products made of straw."
He added, "The straw products that we produce are part of the heritage of our Palestinian homeland, and our role here is to preserve the legacy of the past, so that it remains present in future generations."
It shows that the workshop of the Association for the Care of the Blind, Technical, produces cleaning brooms of various kinds, for carpets, tiles, and paint, as well as street brooms and traditional straw chairs.
The blind young man continues his speech, saying: “The profession of producing traditional handmade products from straw is a permanent source of livelihood that enables me to provide what my family and I need. I have not found a profession more suitable for my health conditions than this, in addition to preserving the heritage of our homeland and our ancestors, by continuing to produce The straw industries and handicrafts that grandparents and fathers used to use. ”
He points out that he learned within the association all the different computer programs, in addition to mastering the profession of software maintenance for mobile phones and computers. He is also one of the players of the Palestinian "goal ball" team for the visually impaired, where he encountered Arab teams, including Algeria, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. And Jordan.
Sufficient see
Young Salama is not alone in preserving the heritage straw profession, through the products he produces by hand within the Association for the Care of the Blind, where dozens of young men and women work alongside him, whose vision impairment rate is 80% or more.
Among them are three brothers from the Al-Koni family, all of whom are visually impaired, who work on a daily basis to produce traditional straw handicrafts, after having previously mastered the language of "Braille" and writing on their own machine. They are: Fahd, Nasreen, and Nermin.
Despite losing the blessings of sight, with their solid will and solid insight, they keep the straw profession from disappearing, which is part of the authentic Palestinian heritage, as they turn straw into tools that every Palestinian home needs with their hands.
The blind young man explains that the handmade straw crafts produced by him and his companions in the Association for the Care of the Blind are popular with citizens living in the old neighborhoods and alleys of Nablus, who want to buy these heritage products, which they used to use over the past decades.
Imad Salameh:
The last picture I saw in my life, before I lost my sight, was the scene of the Big Bang that caused the most severe tragedy I have faced in my entire life.
The profession of producing traditional handmade products
From straw, it is my permanent source of livelihood
From providing what I need
Me and my family.
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