GROUND TRUTH
Testimonies of dispossession, destruction, and return in the Naqab/Negev
▻http://www.forensic-architecture.org/case/ground-truth
“This is an ongoing project that aims to provide historical and juridical evidence on behalf of the illegalised Palestinian Bedouin villages in the northern threshold of the Negev (Naqab) desert. At the heart of the project are a photographic dossier and an interactive platform that utilise contemporary and historical images to map the presence and remnants of Bedouin settlements in this location. The main collaborators are Zochrot, Public Lab, the Associations of Unrecognised Villages, and the law office of Michael Sfard. The project aims to document and collate disparate legal and historical evidence for the continuity of the sedentary presence of the Bedouin population on this land, as well as traces of their repeated displacement and destruction by government forces. This first iteration of the project centres on the case of the village Al-Araqib, which has been demolished over 114 times over the past 60 years. A second phase of the project would wish to expand the work into more unrecognised villages where establishing proof of continuity of presence would be helpful.
The project involves a collaboration with Public Lab consisting of flying kites and balloons equipped with simple cameras to collect aerial views and compose them into 3D models through photogrammetry. Ground truth refers to the comparison of these photographs with aerial images from the 20th century. The final outcome of the project will be an online digital platform that will host the historical and contemporary material and enhance the understanding of the overarching story of the Bedouin presence and displacement from the area.”