Dubai: They all share the same hope and have heard similar stories growing up. They can only describe the areas they come from through pictures they have seen and based on what their parents or grandparents have told them, but they can go on to speak about Palestine for hours without giving up.
Almost three generations have passed since Palestinians lost their homeland, yet young Palestinians living in the UAE still feel attached to a land they have never seen.
Born and raised in the UAE, Sarah Tamimi is certain that more generations may come and go, and Palestinians will continue to feel the same strong connection she feels towards her country.
She brings up an Arabic proverb to explain why it doesn’t relate to how Palestinians feel. “In Arabic, we have this proverb that says whatever is far away from the eye is far away from the heart, but with Palestine, it’s totally opposite for us — the further it is away from us, the more we will feel attached to it,” she says.
Coming from Nablus, a place she has only heard about and read in the news, Tamimi recounts the positive things that cross her mind first. “It’s famous for having the authentic Kunafa and also soap, but it also had the biggest library that was my grandfather’s, but we don’t have that library anymore,” says the 20-year-old journalism student studying at the American University in Dubai (AUD).
“My grandfather was a prominent lawyer, but he had to leave because of the political situation. He couldn’t watch his city being taken away from him. My grandparents from my mother’s side had their property confiscated from them and they had to flee to Jordan and never got to go back,” Tamimi, who holds a Jordanian passport, said.
But what Palestine means to her is more than roots or heritage. It’s more of the struggles that people of her country had to experience. “Being Palestinian means resistance, it means hope, it means identity, and it means a constant internal and external conflict. Internal conflict meaning I’m talking about a land that’s politically not mine anymore, but deep down and historically, it’s mine, be they the lands of 1948, the lands of the West Bank Jerusalem, every place,” she said.
Being also Jordanian, she said she feels confused about her identity, even though about 70 per cent of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian origin and are well integrated into the Jordanian society.
“Deep down, I know I’m Palestinian, not Jordanian. My parents taught me to be Palestinian through the stories they shared with me, through the dialect they taught me to speak and the food we ate, but I still get confused about my identity because I have never been to my country,” she said.
She vowed that if she could ever return, she would re-establish the library that belonged to the Tamimis in Nablus.
Like Tamimi, 18-year-old Ayda Ayyad also gets feelings of bitterness and sadness every time she recounts how her grandparents were forced out of their homes after the 1948 war and had to take refuge in another country.
She comes from the occupied town of Yafa, which Palestinians refer to as the 48 areas, or the areas Israelis captured and created their state.
“I feel the consequences of the war on me due to the hardships and oppression experienced by my nation and my people. It’s not easy to hear about how my grandfather did not have a choice other than to leave his home, lose his property and start getting used to a new life in Egypt with his parents,” said the AUD student studying business.
She points out that there are still documents that show that her family owned property back in Palestine. “My grandpa’s family ran a school for the disabled in Yafa, and even that was taken away from them,” she said.
Ayyad says her Palestinian passport makes her feel restricted to where she can travel to and where she can live. Palestinians and Arabs, with the exception of citizens of Egypt and Jordan who signed a peace treaty with Israel, are strictly prohibited from entering what is now known as Israel. Palestinians holding Palestinian passport can also face extreme difficulties entering Arab countries.
Raised in the UAE since she was 10 years old, she feels that the future generation of youth will still hold the same values and hold on to their roots the same way she did.
Mohammad Elian, 18, from the same university says most youth are raised knowing their history, culture and heritage. “I think most families put a lot of effort to ingrain the Palestinian identity in their children. I myself feel patriotic. My two younger siblings are being told how their land was taken away,” he said.
Elian, who comes from Jerusalem, but has lived most of his life in Jordan, said even though he has never seen Palestine, the stories he heard will always resonate in his life.
“Almost 69 years have passed on the conflict, yet we still feel proud about being Palestinian because my people were the bravest, especially those still living there right now,” he said.
“I may have no memories in Jerusalem, but it has a special place in my heart. It’s unfair for us to not be able to visit it.”
His mother was only 10 when she and her family had to flee to Jordan in the 1980s. “She was only a child when soldiers told them they had to leave their home. They had to leave everything behind. Her childhood was ruined, and until today, she doesn’t like to bring up these memories,” said Elian, who came to the UAE at the age of 11.
Although Elian sees no progress in the Palestinian cause, he hopes to move to the US so he can get his citizenship and be able to visit Palestine.
“I will make sure my children are raised as Palestinians no matter where they are born,” he said.
Ayyad, Tamim and Elian, and many other youth like them observe November 2 as the day that led to the gradual losing of their homeland. The 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, which backed a Jewish homeland in Palestine, still has many relevance to their lives.
“The declaration resulted in many Jews migrating to Palestine, thinking it’s their promised and rightful land, even though it was ours. It was the reason behind everything happening to us,” said Ayyad.
Elian said the declaration had stated no act shall be done to affect the rights of non-Jews in Palestine, “but that’s not what exactly happened. It changed the fate of Palestinians. This day signifies decades of humiliation and struggle for Palestinians”, he said.
