The film about the lives of children in Gaza was removed after the BBC said it discovered the film’s 14-year-old narrator was the son of an official for Palestinian organisation Hamas. However, it may not be as simple as that…
More than 800 artists and media personalities, including director Ken Loach, actor Riz Ahmed, Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett and former footballer and sports commentator Gary Lineker, have signed a letter to the BBC criticising the corporation for removing the documentary Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone from its iPlayer service.
The film about the lives of children in Gaza was produced by independent company Hoyo Films. It was removed after the BBC said it discovered the film’s 14-year-old narrator was the son of an official for Palestinian organisation Hamas.
The programme has been condemned by some as a failure of commissioning standards.
Now, an open letter from the network Artists For Palestine UK condemns the decision to pull the documentary.
It reads: “We are UK-based film & TV professionals and journalists writing in support of the BBC documentary Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone, which aired on February 17 on BBC TWO and was subsequently made available on iPlayer. This film is an essential piece of journalism, offering an all-too-rare perspective on the lived experiences of Palestinian children living in unimaginable circumstances, which amplifies voices so often silenced. It deserves recognition, not politically motivated censorship.”
The letter goes on to criticise what it calls the “Racist Assumptions & Weaponisation of Identity” regarding the narrator’s background, as well as the “disregard” of “core safeguarding principles” regarding the scrutiny based on the child. It calls on the BBC to “reject attempts to have the documentary permanently removed or subjected to undue disavowals”.
The full letter can be read here.
Other signatories include actresses Ruth Negga and Juliet Stevenson. The latter responded on Times Radio to the BBC’s decision, saying the film is “nothing to do with Hamas.” Her arguments say it all:
Bridgerton star India Amarteifio, the novelist Max Porter and Kneecap director Rich Peppiatt are also signatories.
The band Kneecap are vocal supporters of Palestine on their social media platforms. They even posted “Fuck the Oscars. Free Palestine” when their film was not nominated for the Academy Awards, despite having been longlisted.
You can read our interview with Rich Peppiatt here.
BBC News reported that the board are set to meet to discuss Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone today.
The UK government proscribed the military wing of Hamas as a terrorist organisation in 2006. In 2021, they also proscribed the Islamist movement’s political wing.