Graffiti for peace
Looking for an original way to propose - why not with graffiti on a controversial security measure? How one Palestinian student hopes to turn the security fence into a lucrative business by offering to spray paint messages along its walls
It is perhaps one of the most divisive symbols of the intifada, but Ahmed Salame chose to see it as a business opportunity. The 25-year-old resident of the village of Beit-Lid near Tulkarm, a business management student at Birzeit University, founded a rapidly growing business – spraying graffiti messages along the security fence.
Customers from all over the world email Salame their text of choice and he or someone working for him head out to the security fence, spray the wall and snap a photograph of their handiwork. The picture is then posted on Salame's website and the customer is sent a link of his request. Marriage proposals for instance have become a popular request among Salame's clients.
Salame, a Palestinian peace activist, told Ynet how the idea came to be: "In April a group of Palestinian students from Birzeit met with a group of students from the Netherlands. During the meeting we discussed how we could promote a more positive image of Palestine in the European Union since we automatically suffer from a poor image.
"We thought maybe we could use the wall to let people learn about Palestinians and Palestine. I spoke with the head of the Dutch delegation and pitched the idea to him, I suggested we start with Holland and see how it goes from there. He sent me the first email as an experiment and we just took it from there."
The first three orders came from Salame's friends: Arthur, Stefan and Hagit – an Israeli acquaintance.
Salame stressed that he was only willing to write positive messages on the fence and not ones that support violence. The energetic entrepreneur took part in a Geneva Initiative seminar held in Jordan over the weekend, which was aimed at simulating negotiations between young political Israeli and Palestinian activists
"I accept messages in every possible language, but I demand a translation so I know what I'm writing. There is only one basic condition – it has to be positive," he said.
Salame said he has already received over 1,000 requests and he hopes to get them all done within a few days, after his exams. "If it's an important message – I guarantee it will be up within 10 days," he said.
Interested? Take into account that every order costs $27. "This is a proper business; however we do have a secondary cause. We will try to help all those who have been hurt by the wall and we will try to pay students to take the pictures for us so that they can at least partially earn their living," explained Salame.
