The UNRWA Film and Photo Archive

Abstract

The digitization of archival photographic records is usually celebrated as a process that makes them accessible to multiple audiences who might have otherwise not been able to examine them so easily. It has equally been noted, however, that the very same process may lead to misrepresentations of records and generate evasive perceptions of their origin and historical significance. No doubt, these benefits and disadvantages may have significant implications in any context. Yet, their magnitude is likely to be of even greater consequence when the digitized records pertain to a long-lasting, ongoing violent conflict. The digital creation of the UNRWA Film and Photo Archive – readily accessible at https://unrwa. photoshelter.com – is one case in point. With its production beginning at a particular moment in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in which its two sides started to engage in direct talks about their shared future, the resulting digital archive demonstrates how photographs originally taken as mere records of institutional activities have, following their digitization, been made into volatile records of unpredictable political consequence. The acronym UNRWA stands for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. A relief and human development organization, UNRWA was created by the United Nations in December 1949 with the intention of bringing relief and designing work programs for Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In May 1950 it became operational and has, since then, offered education, health care, social services and emergency assistance, while working to improve the infrastructure and general living conditions in the Palestinian refugee camps located within the boundaries of these countries and lands. Similar to many other humanitarian organizations, over the years UNRWA has commissioned photographers and filmmakers to document its pursuits, mainly for communication and fundraising purposes. Their works have been preserved in a physical voluminous audio-visual archive. Split since 1996 between UNRWA’s two Headquarters in Amman (Jordan) and Gaza, it contains over 600,000 records, including approximately 459,000 black and white photo negatives, a few hundred photographic prints, 58,000 color slides, 15,000 contact sheets, 75 films, 730 videocassettes and an estimated 80,000 born-digital images.