Palestinian artists paint dust masks to increase coronavirus awareness in Gaza

W/S Palestinian artists (from left to right) Dorgam Qraiqea, Tamer al-Deeb and Samah Saed in Gaza Strip
M/S Artists Tamer al-Deeb and Samah Saed painting face masks
M/S Artist Tamer al-Deeb painting face mask
M/S Artist Samah Saed painting face mask, table full of masks
C/U Artists hands at work
M/S Samah and Tamer painting face masks
C/U Coronavirus drawing on face mask
C/U Samah Saed painting; artist wearing a face mask
M/S Two artists at work from above
C/U Face mask with sky theme
SOT, Dorgam Qraiqea, Project founder (Arabic): "Our project aims to encourage people to wear the masks [in order to maintain their well-being] as many people don't take it [wearing the masks] seriously, and they regard it as stupidity. Given the aggravating circumstances we are living in amid the [outbreak] of the coronavirus, [I believe that] everyone should wear the masks."
M/S Artist painting from behind, table full of painted masks
C/U Artist drawing on mask
M/S Samah Saed at work wearing red face mask
M/S Table with lots of colourful face masks
SOT, Dorgam Qraiqea, Project founder (Arabic): "We've created something beautiful and delightful. We bought the masks from the pharmacy and drew on them. After that we uploaded photos on Facebook and other social media platforms. The idea was well-received and had a high demand among the people who started to contact us asking to have drawings on their own masks."
M/S Artists at work
C/U Paintbrush reaching out to oil colour
C/U Artist from behind; oil colour
SOT, Dorgam Qraiqea, Project founder (Arabic): "We started buying the masks and distributing them after drawing on them to encourage people to keep wearing them. The coronavirus is fatal and highly contagious. Thanks god, people accepted the idea which became very popular."
C/U Face mask
C/U Face mask
SOT, Tamer al-Deeb, Project member (Arabic): "We are drawing on the masks as a precautionary action against the coronavirus. In Gaza, people are being reckless regarding this matter and are not taking it seriously. We want to send a message to our community in Gaza that people must pay attention to completely sterilise their bodies and hands, also to wear the masks to prevent the virus infection."
C/U Tamer wearing scary-motif face mask
M/S Three artists at table
C/U Face masks ready
SCRIPT
Following the news of the first identified coronavirus cases in Gaza Strip, three local artists decided to decorate and hand out dust masks for free in a bid to encourage more people to protect themselves against the coronavirus outbreak, footage from Wednesday shows.
"We started buying the masks and distributing them after drawing on them to encourage people to keep wearing them. The coronavirus is fatal and highly contagious. Thank god, people accepted the idea which became very popular," said Dorgam Qraiqea, the Palestinian artist who came up with the idea of the "Art in Time of Corona" project.
The artists have been working four hours a day in a workshop in al-Shujaya neighbourhood, east of Gaza City.
Motifs include funny drawings for children, love, freedom and also some scary drawings to draw people's attention to the lethal danger of the pandemic.
Densely-packed Gaza Strip has nine confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Thursday.