Palestinians in UAE maintain identity

Dubai: Samia Maarouf was born in Abu Dhabi, holds a German passport, has spent her entire life in the UAE, but says she will always identify as a Palestinian.

Yesterday, Samia, along with Palestinians across the UAE and around the world, marked 59 years since Al Naqba, or 'the catastrophe' - the anniversary which commemorates the 1948 expulsion and dispossession of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.

For Samia's family, the anniversary also holds particular significance as her grandmother was killed during the occupation of her village by Jewish forces in 1948.

Identity

"My father was four years old and the family was forced to flee to Lebanon. I feel sadness and a sense of nostalgia when I hear about Al Naqba, because we still don't have our own country. I still feel Palestinian, even if the UAE is my home," she told Gulf News.

Like many Palestinians, Samia, 22, is able to explain exactly where her family home is in present-day Israel, despite never having been there.

"Our home is a white stone house surrounded by farmland in Deir Al Kassi near Acre. It is still there, but now Israelis are living in it," said the marketing student in her last semester at the University of Sharjah.

According to Palestinian records, over the course of 1948, more than 530 Palestinian villages were depopulated and destroyed. To this day, Israel continues to prevent the return of approximately six million Palestinian refugees.

Home

For 21-year-old Mohannad Abbas, 1948 changed the course of every Palestinian's life and says he feels he is a stranger in any country, even when he visits Palestine.

Abbas was born in Al Ain and grew up in the UAE, but is among those who have been able to go back to Palestine, occasionally visiting his extended family in the West Bank.

A few years ago, the "patriotic" Palestinian returned to his grandparents' former home in the Al Jurah neighbourhood in Safad, in what is now northern Israel.

"I wish I had not gone," Abbas said, expressing the anguish he felt at finding the neighbourhood completely demolished, including the mosque.

"It is so difficult to lose your country, your home, and the feeling of belonging," he said. However, unlike Abbas, Dubai-born Mariam Keblawi is unable to return to Palestine, as she holds travel documents issued in Leb-anon.

"I feel as though I am a foreigner everywhere. I can't go to my own country. It is not a pleasant feeling to get your visa rejected or to go through difficulties because you only hold a travel document," said the 23-year-old.

"Recalling what happened during Al Naqba is still difficult. I feel robbed and as though my rights are violated over and over again."