A review by letsgolesbians
Against Erasure: A Photographic Memory of Palestine Before the Nakba by Teresa Aranguren, Sandra Barrilaro

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective

5.0

“our eyes seldom encounter palestine before the israeli return; a palestine not defined by its ailments but defined by its industries and cultures. yet, it is important to resist the urge to romanticize that era. one must situate these photographs within the proper socio-economic context and ask about what is not represented in these images—who had access to cameras? who was behind these cameras? what can be said of those who lived far from the flashing lights and tape recorders? where do we look for their fossilized legacies?”

an important reminder from mohammed el-kurd in the forward to the 2024 edition of against erasure, and one we should keep in our minds when we look through photo collections. i don’t have answers to his questions, but they stayed in my mind as i studied the photos in this book. 

against erasure features photos from palestine before the nakba, and several photos of refugees fleeing their home cities in 1948 and of refugee camps. palestine was very much not “a land without a people” but a land taken from a people who cherished it. there are photos of families in traditional and in modern dress, of the palestine broadcasting services, of visiting dignitaries.

also included are a couple of poems, and six essays/forwards about palestinian history, the importance of photos within history, and the photo collection process for the book. i found the essays to include thoughtful analysis recognizing nuance (imagine that!). 

the photo on the cover is a group of girls playing basketball in kalandia, west bank in the 1950s. i included my press t-shirt in the photo as a reminder that photographers like our beloved motaz have been forced to become photojournalists. similarly, the family albums some of these photos came from should have just been family memories but instead have become an important part of a denied history. 

against erasure is currently available on the haymarket website. i highly recommend requesting your library purchase this book, and purchasing one for yourself if you can after the strike.