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Marhaba. My name is Shireen Matar Manoli.
I am from Bethlehem, Palestine.
Yes, Bethlehem. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus --
Jesus of Nazareth.
What you guys can see behind me is the Nativity Church
where Jesus was born --
the famous Nativity Church of Bethlehem.
Bethlehem is located in the center of the West Bank,
approximately 10 km from Jerusalem,
with a population of 30,000 people.
I started my career as a journalist around the year 2000.
I started as a DJ. I used to mix music live on the air
for Radio Bethlehem 2000.
After that, I started my career with Bethlehem TV station
as a camerawoman, but I was volunteering all the time.
I never had a real job. In 2003, I began freelancing for
the producer Hanna Musleh.
He is a famous producer in Palestine.
In 2005, I graduated from Bethlehem Bible College
with a degree in media.
After that, I worked for the college for almost a year,
working as a journalist, camerawoman, producer, or TV host --
whatever they needed.
This is how it is in Palestine.
People can do a lot of jobs at one time without getting paid
most of the time.
After that I went to the United States.
I got my degree in radio, television and film,
specifically in documentary filmmaking.
Unfortunately, when I was living in the United States for three years, I noticed that
people don't view us the way we are.
People have stereotypes about Palestinians;
they have a lot of stereotypes about us, as women, living in Palestine.
They have an old mentality about the Arab region.
But with film, you can show the world
who you are, and what you are, and a normal life.
What you guys can see on TV
is not always the right story or the real story.
There is more than one truth.
The key issues remaining in the Arab-Israeli conflict
are mutual recognition, borders, security, water rights,
and control of Jerusalem, land rights.
The violence resulting from the conflict has prompted
international actions, as well as other security
and human rights concerns,
both within and between both sides and internationally.