Proposal: Monument to commemorate the Nakba

Proposal of Abed Abdi to erect a monument to commemorate the Palestinian Nakba 2023

Proposed Material of main partBronze or Aluminium or Stone

Proposed Hight of main part7m

Proposed Length of base220 x 220 cm

BaseBeton covered with black granite including Palestinian motives

Back part (display wall)includes 5 windows, each containing bronze or aluminium or ceramic 3d environmental sculptures, showcasing Palestinian History of the Nakba.

Wall size900 cm length, 250 cm hight, 30 cm width

Wall materialssteal beton covered with gray granite. A vertical strip of black granite in the middle of the wall divides the wall into 2 sides

Windows size 100 cm width, 80 cm hight. No.3 's hight is 80 x 120 cm

Proposed LocationRamallah

Proposal dateApril 2023

StatusNo response

The proposed Monument: Components

1.The foundational edifice resembling resilience. 2.The base of the edifice and a written explanation about the monument. and the words of Mahmoud Darweesh engraved in the stone in gold: It is worth living on this land. 3. A mural with 5 windows that displays the march of the Palestinian people. 4. Commemorative evidence (Large stones, rocks) with the names of the villages displaced after the Nakba. 5. Monument Environment: The Resilience Garden, including Palestinian herbs and flowers.

The proposed Monument: foundational edifice

The foundational edifice: resilience It is a symbolic embodiment of the steadfast Palestinian man in the Palestinian land, defying the calamities and tragedies that befell him from the Nakba in 1948 until now.

The proposed Monument: The mural of the 5 Windows

I suggest inviting 4 additional creators from Palestine and the diaspora, to implement their proposals for sculptures or models about the Palestinian biography and march with a visual historical review on the proposed boxes, under my artistic supervision, to maintain the harmony of all the murals and the compatibility of all the components of the memorial. The wall contains concrete and iron and is covered with marble granite in a residential gray color on all sides, except for the space of the five boxes prepared with a depth of 20 cm, and a vertical line of black granite with a thickness of 20 cm in the middle of the mural dividing the mural into two parts, and this symbolizes the unity of the spectrum of Palestine despite the barriers and distraction. I shall execute the mural no.3, from bronze.

Subjects of The mural of the 5 Windows

1. Palestine before the Nakba. 2. The Nakba. 3. Taking refuge. 4. The struggle for liberation. 5. Hope.

The proposed Monument: Tombstones

There are, according to the estimation, about 540 displaced villages and cities in which massacres were committed, such as Jaffa, Lydda, Ramla, Tantura, Deir Yassin, Tiberias, and villages that were completely demolished or displaced, such as the villages of al-Zeeb, Kafr Lam, Iqrit, Kafr Bir’im, Ijzim, Ain Ghazal, al-Ghabisiyya, Saffuriyya, al-Mujidil, Bisan. , Ashkelon and the villages of Latrun and others. Suggestion: Designing stone tombstones of different sizes with the help of professionals, from the stones of the Palestinian regions, such as basalt stone, Karkar stone, and the rocks of Nablus and Yarka in the Galilee, with the names of the villages mentioned above engraved in stone with the help of an Arabic calligraphy artist.

The proposed Monument: Memorial Garden

The memorial ought to be raised from the surface of the earth, sitting on a platform linked by five steps to climb up to it. the bottom of the platform should be a designed botanical garden, which is a strip of 70-100 cm thick from a garden around the monument, containing Palestinian flowers and herbs from all areas, with rocks. In addition, it was proposed to build a pedestrian road strip around the monument, a bench strip, another strip of 70-100 cm of Palestinian herbs that have a fragrant scent, and a fence strip around the monument and a gate to enter the site. It was also proposed to install lighting poles and to install focused lighting on the monument.