Peter Mortimer wins cultural honour for Palestine project

Apr 7 2010 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

A VENTURE which brought Palestinian refugee camp youngsters to the North East to perform a play has won national recognition.

Writer Peter Mortimer, from Cullercoats in North Tyneside, has been short listed for the 2010 Arab British Culture and Society Award for his work on the Shatila Project. The annual prize of £5,000 celebrates those who have contributed to the British public’s understanding of the life, society and culture of the Arab people.

The winner will be chosen by a distinguished panel of Arab and British experts with a wide knowledge of the cultures of both the Arab world and Britain.

The Shatila project will be up against competition such as the BBC2’s series The Frankincense Trail.

Last September, 10 girls from the Shatila refugee camp on the edge of Beirut made the trip of a lifetime to Tyneside to perform a play by Peter Mortimer at The Sage Gateshead, Customs House in South Shields, Saville Exchange in North Shields and Bellingham Town Hall in Northumberland.

Peter worked with the girls’ school while living in Shatila for two months.

The book he wrote on his experiences, Camp Shatila, has now gone into its second print run.

Peter and a team of helpers raised more than £20,000 to bring the Palestinians to the North East and the youngsters were overwhelmed by the kindness shown to them by local people during their stay.

Since then, links between the region and Shatila have grown, with Whitley Bay football club donating a set of strips to the camp team.

The play will also now be performed by a different set of camp youngsters at a theatre in Christian East Beirut and work is starting on the task of raising another £20,000 to bring the cast back to the North East in February for dates which will include The Sage and the Saville Exchange.