Keith Walsh talks to Film Ireland about Apples of the Golan, which documents the precarious existence of the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights.
Apples of the Golan, Keith Walsh and Jill Beardsworth’s fascinating documentary, attempts to tell part of the complex story of the village of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The opening narrative tells us that before the 1967 Six Day War, there were 139 Arab villages in the Golan Heights region. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria during that war – and now only five villages remain. All of the others were destroyed. Over 138,000 Syrian Arabs were forced from their homes. The documentary tells the tale of the Druze community, the people of a ‘forgotten occupation’, that live in one of those five remaining villages, Majdal Shams,
Keith Walsh explains how the film was born out of a chance encounter with human rights researcher Gearóid O Cúinn, who became the film’s executive producer. “He had just came back from the Golan Heights after having spent 3 month out there. He saw that there was a story to be told – and after telling us about his experiences there, the idea of making a film was sold to us.”
A heartbreaking aspect of the film is that the people in the village have family in Syria they have been separated from – family they cannot visit as they are not allowed cross the ‘ceasefire line’. There is also the phenomena of the Syrian Bride (the subject of Eran Riklis’ 2004 film), whereby Druze women from one side of the border can cross to the other to be married to other Druze. But once she crosses she gives up her identity and can never return. It is personal stories such as these that were the crux of the film for Keith. “The human story was absolutely the most interesting aspect and the idea that these families were separated, divided by the border shouting messages across a minefield, known locally as the ‘Valley of Tears’. The tragedy of having a wedding or a funeral and shouting across a valley with mines to convey your condolences or congratulations is pretty striking.
“In terms of the politics, it’s an area that’s laden with politics – there’s something political in everything there. So that was one of the challenges – to try keeping to the human stories but also to convey some of the politics, some of the forces that are impacting on the particular situation.”
Another key facet of the documentary is the evolution of a difference in opinion between the older and younger generations towards their identity, as the youth question the reality of the allegiances to a place they’ve never been. Keith explains that “here you have 2 generations that have been born and grown up on occupied Syrian land and they can’t go back to their home country. The more and more it goes on, the more and more they don’t belong in Syria in a way because they’re growing up in a different space.”
I ask Keith how this affects how they see themselves and their future. “Up to a recent point in time they still felt Arab and still felt Syrian so they would have seen their future ideally in Syria. But I think now that’s beginning to change with what’s happening as the civil war starts to deepen and the country starts to fracture. The homeland that they have been taught to love is no more. 90 per cent of the border that borders the Syrian side of the Golan Heights is controlled by the rebels – who would not be very accommodating to them – so there’s a sense of hopelessness among the younger generation. There’s been reports of a big uptake in the amount of Israeli citizenship; so anecdotally, I suppose the evidence is pointing to young people turning away… giving up hope of going back to Syria and trying to establish a life for themselves.”
So, sadly, as Keith points out, the conflict in Syria succeeded in doing what the Israeli occupation couldn’t achieve – “it divided the community. You might have had some dissenting voices prior to the conflict but for the most part they put on a public face of unity and loyalty to Syria. But now things have changed. Communities and families are divided.”
And with that comes another difficult chapter in the history of the Madjal Shams community – a community on the point of massive change.
Apples of the Golan is being shown on Thursday, 22nd January; Sunday, 25th January; and Monday, 26th January at the IFI. Click here for details.
The documentary will also be screened at the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny on 22nd January; the Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford on 4th February; and The New Theatre, Temple Bar on 28th February, with more dates around the country to be announced.
