In a tiny room in the besieged Gaza city a group of dedicated women gather with a large and rare collection of historic manuscripts books and historical records which have eroded over the years as a result of continuous occupation repeated wars abandonment neglect and other causes for a project focusing on professional restoration and preventive maintenance.
The group of Palestinian researchers from the Eyes on Heritage Foundation in Gaza City are restoring and archiving ancient books and manuscripts led by a specialized team of women. Through their collective efforts they work to revive and restore ancient and rare manuscripts and books while carefully preserving and maintaining these invaluable works.
The team which consists of 9 female researchers holding PhD MA and BA degrees in various specializations has been trained in digital restoration and archiving according to agreed-upon international standards as well as manual restoration according to international mechanisms. Manuscripts are restored in the coastal enclave just as any manuscript around the world is restored. The women have been working for years gathering books and manuscripts transferring them to their library then undergoing the painstaking process of restoring the manuscripts in a room similar to an intensive care unit. They archive the documents electronically in a rare and unique studio in the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The team works in utmost precision and proficiency reflecting their diligence and commitment to document the history of their occupied land.
When asked about the scope of this project Hala AlAmassi the executive manager of Eyes on Heritage Foundation answered &ldquoThe attention and time we put into these ancient documents and manuscripts is immense as this is the only way locally to preserve the massive lexicon of heritage produced by the Arab and Islamic mind.&rdquo
She continued &ldquoThe rare collections of manuscripts and books have a very significant scientific value and are a critical source of primary information hence the importance of preserving them.&rdquo
AlAmassi explained that each restoration project goes through several stages the first of which is restoration or preventive maintenance during which they inspect manuscripts documents and books and check the quality of the paper its acidity ink stability and its type whether it is carbon or iron.
&ldquoAfter the completion of the restoration the books and manuscripts are exported to the archiving department and at which point the first phase ends and the work of the archiving department begins” AlAmassi noted. “Once the photography is completed we upload the books to the British Library and Museum website so that they are available to scholars around the world. Afterwards we place the books in acid-free boxes to prevent them from being handled and they are placed in an iron safe.&rdquo
While Duaa Dwaimah one of the team members recounted the most prominent obstacles facing the project: &ldquoSince Gaza is a city under besiegement specialized materials are not available for the restoration of manuscripts and we have to wait for long months to access the necessary equipment for the restoration and archiving of manuscripts in addition to the fact that the restoration process is difficult and delicate and the crew needs approximately 7 or 8 hours to complete a single manuscript.&rdquo
Over the course of several years the archives team has been able to save a large collection of manuscripts and books that were assembled from the libraries of historians and thinkers from Gaza throughout the ages. The manuscripts according to Dwaimah include political jurisprudential and educational books in addition to manuscripts scientific books poetry and novels.
Dwaimah expressed deep regret for the lack of awareness of the value of Palestinian heritage manuscripts noting that a large part of this heritage was stolen by the Israeli occupation while another part has been lost during the repeated Israeli aggressions on the Strip. The team ultimately wished to raise the awareness of their project locally and internationally.
