Region | Palestinian Territories
'We had one leader and he's gone'
"We forgot to turn off the radio," recalls Umm Fatih, an elderly Palestinian woman living in the Sbeineh refugee camp in Syria.
- By Sami Moubayed, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 00:41 May 14, 2008
- Um Fatih and her husband in are still counting the days to go back home. caption.
- Image Credit: Omar Sanadiki/Gulf News
"We forgot to turn off the radio," recalls Umm Fatih, an elderly Palestinian woman living in the Sbeineh refugee camp in Syria.
"My father rushed us out of our home in Acre - me and my four brothers and sisters - saying that it would be just hours, and we would return. We did not have time to pack any belongings; just our passports.
"He was saying that the Arabs have collectively invaded Palestine and would rid us of the Jews. He was certain that they would emerge victorious! That is what Haj Ameen (the Mufti of Jerusalem) was saying."
She then stopped for a moment, stared at a black and white photograph of her father, neatly perched in the living room, and added, "Poor him... he did not realise that this was the last time he would see our house. He believed the Arab leaders, and died in Beirut, deceived, far away from Palestine!"
Umm Fatih's story is a re-occurring theme among Palestinians living in refugee camps in Syria since 1948. The other re-occurring theme is a picture of the Dome of the Rock, found in every single home, along with photos of either Yasser Arafat or Ahmad Yassin.
Not a single family, however, had a photo of President Mahmoud Abbas - himself a former refugee at the camps of Syria - who came to Damascus with his family from Safad and studied at the Syrian University.
Jamal Falah, a 40-year old Palestinian salesman living in Damascus noted, "Abu Mazen who? Who is this man who claims to represent us? We have one leader. His name is Yasser Arafat. And he is gone!"
Most Palestinian-Syrians, however, were not as lucky as Abu Mazen. They did not get the chance to become international statesmen, to tour the world and be received by red carpets and Palestinian Flags fluttering in the breeze.
They have a temporary ID card, issued by the Syrian Government, which restricts their travel since it is close to impossible for them to get visas, neither to the Arab world and certainly not to the US. They remained grounded in the miserable camps scattered in Syria and Lebanon.
Nour, a young Palestinian who was visiting relatives at the Neirab Camp in Aleppo (which hosts 18,279 refugees in deplorable conditions), spoke to Gulf News and said, "I wanted to ask them about their views regarding the events at Gaza. I couldn't. I honestly couldn't.
"Why in the world should they care about Gaza when they are living in conditions that are as cruel - if not more - than those of Gazans? At least there the enemy is Israel. Over here, the enemy is ignorance, poverty and despair."
Jamal Mansour, a refugee from Haifa living in Syria, spoke to Gulf News saying: "I am a third-generation Palestinian who has never seen his paternal homeland, and who sadly believes that he is never going to live to see it."
He added, "To date we had preserved the dream of returning there. However, with the current internal strife and absence of a true unifying leadership, or consensus in the Occupied Territory, we are now losing that dream as well."
After Umm Fatih, Nour, and Mansour, Gulf News visited members of the Yassin family at the Yarmouk camp (8 km from central Damascus), one of the un-official refugee camps in Syria.
This camp was different; showing signs of relative comfort, along with cement buildings yet narrow roads, and shops scattered all around the neighbourhood, selling food, DVDs, and mobile phones.
This camp, established in 1957, is the five-star hotel of refugee camps in Syria, boasting of doctors, artists, and engineers, along with four hospitals, and UNRWA schools.
The family at Yarmouk had the same chorus of grievances; economic hardships, difficulty to get a travel permit, and lack of faith in Abu Mazen; drawing constant parallels between him and Arafat.
The family's 13-year old Omar said, "I want to grow up and join the resistance, either in Lebanon or in Gaza, because the Jews are killing my people!" His mother Suleima smiled, adding, "Do you want to be a Yasser Arafat?" He nodded - thinking about it for a moment and clearly enjoying the mental image.
This was a lower middle class family - certainly not rich, but certainly not below the poverty line. They had Islamic scripture on their walls, but the mother was not veiled. Her mother Umm Fayez came in, wearing a scarf for modesty, rather than religiousness.
Speaking to Gulf News, she recalled, "I was 20 when my family left our home in Palestine. I am now 80 and we still have not returned. You ask me about my impressions 60 years after the loss of Palestine? I cannot but remain optimistic. I don't have another choice. If I lose that hope, I will die."
She then walked in and came out with an old brown leather bag, carrying travel document in English, issued by the British Mandate in Jerusalem.
"These are our travel documents. This is all that we had when we left." She then took out a rusted old key; a large one that resembles castle keys in movies, "This is the key to our home in Safad. My family and I went from Safad to Lebanon - on foot during the year of the Nakba. This is all that remains, 60-years onwards!"
Dr Sami Moubayed is a Syrian political analyst.
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