Where Olive Trees Weep (coming soon)
Where Olive Trees Weep offers a searing window into the struggles and resilience of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. Following Palestinian journalist and therapist Ashira Darwish, grassroots activist Ahed Tamimi and others, the film explores the themes of loss, trauma, and quest for justice. Ancient landscapes bear deep scars, having witnessed the brutal reality of ancestral land confiscation, expulsions, imprisonment, home demolitions, water deprivation, and denial of basic human rights. Yet, through the veil of oppression, we catch a glimpse of the resilience — the deep roots that have carried the Palestinian people through decades of darkness and shattered lives. Bearing witness to their harrowing experiences, one cannot help but ask: What makes the oppressor so ruthlessly blind to its own cruelty?
Dr. Gabor Maté in Palestine, Trauma Healing Conference
Dr. Gabor Maté, the renowned Jewish Canadian psychotherapist and political free thinker who survived Auschwitz, declared this was the worst thing he had witnessed in his life. It is the worst because the horror of Gaza is screened nightly on our TV screens.
​
Dr. Maté visited Palestine in June 2021, where he hosted a conference on generation trauma healing, especially that related to the Palestine-Israel conflict. Maté stayed for five days in Jericho, where the conference was held.
We all carry habits, thoughts, and ideas planted in us by our ancestors, culture, and the people close to us. As children, we were like empty vessels, observing our environment and learning right from wrong.
Our emotional intelligence and behaviors are shaped by the situations and environments we grow up in. Our reactions to situations happen to us and around us, and the triggers provoke us.
Hello. My name is Ashira Prem Rachana. I focus on healing trauma derived from social and political circumstances. I grew up in Palestine and worked as a journalist and researcher for Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
My personal journey of healing from a physical injury that paralyzed me from the neck down sent me on a self-healing journey, where I gained mastery of my body through various healing methods. I mainly combine Kundalini Tantra techniques with active meditation to focus on releasing physical and emotional trauma for adults and children. I do this by liberating people's Kundalini energy and opening the body's channels using dance, yoga, and breathwork.