Past activities
Am'ari Youth Centre
ORFA members, with help from The Queen’s College Chapel collection, raised £2000 to renovate toilets and changing rooms in Am'ari Youth Centre. The centre's yoga and martial arts classes promote health, wellbeing and confidence for children, young people and women in a dedicated, safe environment. In this video, Yoga teacher Tariq Hawari talks about how yoga boosts the young people's self esteem and helps them to accept each other.
Dabke dancers
In June 2018 a group of young Dabke dancers visited Oxford from Ramallah. They performed at the Ashmolean Museum, West Oxford Community Centre, Cowley Road Carnival, the Dancin’ Oxford Global Dance Stage, and at Faringdon Grand Peace Fete, as well as taking part in dance workshops with Wolvercote Morris Dancers and Oxford Youth Dance Company. They ran a workshop with 150 children at East Oxford Primary School, visited the Cowley car plant and went bowling. They also had a great day out in London and explored Oxford’s museums, parks and shops.
ORFA hosts Mazin Qumsiyeh in Oxford
Mazin Qumsiyeh, Palestinian scientist, author, and director of the Palestine Museum of Natural History, visited Oxford in October 2017. During his visit he spoke at two public meetings, one organised by ORFA and Oxford Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the second in the University, sponsored by ORFA and Friends of Bir Zeit University, and with the financial support of 'Palestine Unlocked'. Both meetings were very well-attended and £1000 was raised to support the work of the Palestine Museum of Natural History.
Mazin also met with Oxford University staff at the Natural History Museum and the Botanic Gardens, where he was able to discuss possible future collaboration. He had meetings with Oxfam, researchers at Wytham Woods and at Oxford Brookes he met Gaza students who had been to the university on their Gaza bursary programme. Read more about the visit here.
Womens Delegation
In 2014 ORFA was pleased to host a visit from 6 women of Al Amari refugee camp in Ramallah, together with Hanan Bannourah, a Trade Union leader from Bethlehem.
(pictured, here, at Oxfam)
During their busy schedule the women took part in the 'Women in Black Vigil' in Bonn Square, went to Banbury to meet the Labour Party women’s section and spoke to 50 young people at a meeting in Oxfam headquarters; they met with Unite Women’s section in Cowley and Unison members in the John Radcliffe Hospital.
They addressed public meetings and receptions in Oxford, met the current mayor, Mr Abbasi, and were interviewed on local radio.
Trade Union Leader visits Oxford
In 2011 ORFA hosted Mohammed Saleh (Aruri), Head of International Relations for the Federation of Independent Unions Palestine, and representative of Arura village in its twinning with Faringdon. During his visit Mohammed addressed a seminar in Brookes University, a public meeting in Ruskin College, and a Socialist Resistance and Green Left meeting on the subject of food security.
His visit coincided with the national public sector strike on November 30. This was an opportunity for Mohammed to meet strikers at numerous picket lines throughout the city, before taking part in a march and eventually addressing an estimated 6,000 people at a rally.