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Object description
Glimpses of life in an Arab village near Hebron in Palestine during the Second World War.
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START 00:00:34 Views of an Arab village in the Hebron district of Palestine consisting of dwellings built from local stone. Villagers (almost exclusively male) in traditional Arab clothing. Camels in use as beasts of burden, donkeys grazing in the arid countryside. Water being collected from a well in an old Shell petrol tin. Goats and an Arab boy whose job it is to look after them.
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00:02:21 Scenes at an Arab school for boys. Pupils and two male teachers (seen wearing fezes which were known locally as tarbushes) walk past the camera in the school grounds. A view of the modern school buildings. Four members of the exclusively-male teaching staff have a meeting with the school headmaster, seen here wearing the traditional 'hatta' headcloth. Scenes inside two classrooms where both text books and slate boards are used as means of instruction by two male teachers. (The Arabic writing on the blackboard reads: "Horse, Horse [ indefinite accusative]. A writer rode a horse trotting")
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00:05:20 At a Palestine government 'Infant Welfare Centre', Arab women, almost covered head to foot, bring in their children for examination.
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00:06:00 Arab villagers, some playing musical instruments, join in a wedding procession; the bride, covered head to toe in a robe topped by feathers, is seen riding on a camel. At the village weavers, an Arab man pretending to be a woman weaves a clothe. A gathering of men, boys and camels and goats. Village elders seated on the ground listening to the one man who is literate reading out aloud from an Arab-language newspaper.
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00:08:45 Scenes filmed under the direction of the cameraman showing the village headman or 'mukhtar' aiding the British war effort in helping to recruit Arab men for the Palestine Regiment. The 'mukhtar' summons his sons; they arrive on horseback to receive his instructions. Brandishing a sword in one hand, the 'mukhtar' shows off his horsemanship. He goes around the village talking to people. On the hillside above the village, there are four herdsboys; one of the riders despatched by the 'mukhtar' arrives on the scene. In the village a number of men gather.
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00:11:24 The local 'imam' (?) goes to his usual vantage point and loudly summons people to attend a meeting. Young men in the village hear his call.
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00:13:00 A 1930s American saloon car requisitioned by the British Army in Palestine is driven along an unmetalled road through the Hebron district and is seen arriving at the village. Its driver, a British army recruiting officer, steps out of the vehicle, is met by the 'mukhtar' and addresses male villagers, asking them to volunteer for the Palestine Regiment. The 'mukhtar', carrying a stick which he uses to emphasise the points he is making, is seen speaking to villagers and meeting a young man on horseback who has decided to join the Palestine Regiment.
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00:17:24 The young man on horseback bids farewell to his male relatives and gallops off to register at the nearest recruiting office. He dismounts from his steed and enters the recruiting office, where an Arabic version of the famous British wartime poster featuring Winston Churchill and the slogan 'Let us go forward Together' is on display. The officer in charge takes down his details and afterwards both men step outside the recruiting office and shake hands. Three Arab men study the Churchill poster outside the entrance to the recruiting office. (The Arabic writing on the poster reads: "The triumphant ones. Winston Churchill - British Prime Minister"
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END 00:20:05
Physical description
16mm