“The old will die and the young will forget.” That was David Ben-Gurion’s cleansing dream. In fact, both the old and the young will die, but no one will forget. Al-Awda (the Palestine Right to Return Coalition) utilises the Internet to advance a just cause and counter the memory offensive. Let’s have a quick look at www.al-awda.org.

The main page gets the message across easily and clearly. The top banner has the flag, the map, the return symbol (the key), a campaign picture, and the site title (English and Arabic). Al-Awda is monolingual (English only).

The site is divided into a top menu bar and three columns. The menu bar provides basic information: About Al-Awda, a well-researched Fact Sheet, Supporting Al-Awda, and Contact information.

As is normal in English sites, the left column has the main contents. It starts with Actions (alerts and activity announcements), then Photos from past events, Chapters and committees, Points of Unity (a charter-like statement), Divestment (calls for boycotts and economic sanctions), Media/Press Room (spokespersons’ contact information, links to media and media resources), Congress (literature to educate policy and decision makers), Educational Materials (books, t-shirts, cards, maps, and pins), Articles/Resources (background information on Palestinian exodus and right to return), Audio/Video (a collection of related clips available online), Historical (links to PASSIA website on Palestinian facts and figures), FAQs on Refugees, Life in a Palestinian Refugee Camp, a collection of related Links grouped in categories, FAQs on Al-Awda, Weekly Statistics (this links to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights), and Donate Now.

The column in the centre is for action updates and is, indeed, updated regularly (the last item was dated February 4). The column ends with links to news about Palestine and information about subscribing to Al-Awda newsgroup and discussion forums, both of which are active and far reaching.

The right column is dedicated to featured items (upcoming activities and other announcements). One can’t miss the featured Sixth Annual International Al-Awda Convention to mark 60 years of exile (May 16-18, 2008).

Al-Awda website scores fairly well in terms of content and update, but design and organization of content could be improved. Although the site mainly serves English-speaking Palestinians, the Web is not bound by geography, and adding Arabic will give it more visibility and momentum. Until we return, Al-Awda website is worth a bookmark.Abed A. Khooli,

IT/KM specialist
Mr. Khooli can be reached at akhooli@arabic2000.com.