Diaspora firm on going back home

Despite the bloodshed and atrocities committed by the Israeli troops against Palestinians and the large-scale destruction in the Occupied Territories, Palestinians who were born in various countries are even more determined than their fathers and ancestors to fight for the liberation of their country and go back home once they can.

A survey conducted by Gulf News yesterday showed that Palestinians, particularly the younger generation, are fully aware of what they want regarding the Palestinian cause, as they insist that their political leadership should not make any consessions whatsoever, specially when it comes to the right of the Palestinian refugees to go back home.

In the UAE, the Palestinians seem to be eager to go back to their country as soon as possible. They said that there are many different reasons for them, especially for those who were not born in Palestine, to go back home.

They said that they want to go back to get the real feeling of having their identity and nationality, in addition to their need for having a home country where they can live normally like other people under the Sun.

The main reason for many other Palestinians who want to go back is to have their country back to them and to feel that they belong to a country rather than being dealt with as refugees forever.

Said Fouad Al Jashi, a 36-year-old Palestinian who was born in Lebanon, said: "Defenitely I want to go back to Palestine, but I wish to go back when it is free rather than occupied. Even if it is occupied, I want to get the chance to go back to help and support the Palestinians who are fighting to get the freedom.

"The consent behind my wish for going back is to get the Palestinian passport and nationality. In my life, I have suffered a lot from having to transfer from one country to another, and this might be the cause why I am more committed to go back than my parents and grand parents because they immigrated to Lebanon only. However, in my case I had to shift to many countries till I settled in the UAE."

Al Jashi said in case Palestine gets its freedom, he personally would opt to go back to Palestine to have a home and a career where he could keep the same or higher standard of living more than he is currently getting from his job in the UAE.

"Logically, I would like that I go back and have a home as I do not want to stay and work here. I should be able to do like many Egyptian or others who come to the UAE to work but at the end they go back to their countries for holidays or after retiring," said Al Jashi.

Amjad Abulez, a 25-year-old Palestinian journalist, said he had a different story to tell. He said he was born in the Occupied Territories, and lived there for more than two decades before he came to work here in the UAE.

"I have lived and studied in the Occupied Territories and I my soul is still there. However, I left because I got a good work opportunity here. I had the choice to stay or leave, and I have chosen to leave because I feel that by doing this, I can develop myself and when I go back again, I would be in a better position to serve and help my country than when I left. I am still crazy about my country and I still adore it. I left Palestine to improve myself, but I will definitely go back."

Maya, 22, another Palestinian who was born in Lebanon and lives now in the UAE, said she liked her parents and wanted to stay with them here, but "of course I would like to go back to my country."

She said she wanted to go back home because "it is my country that I feel, that I belong to and should live in. I am also fond of the UAE because my parents came to Dubai when I was only just one year old.

I consider this country as my motherland, as here we have the facilities we need and the living standard is much better than what is in Palestine. This does not mean that I don't feel committed to going back home. We Arabs and Muslims should fight and get Palestine back to the Muslims because this is our religious duty toward it," said Maya.

In Oman, Palestinian refugees who were born outside their homeland said they were yearning to go back to their motherland the moment it is freed from the yoke of Israel, a state created by the West more than 50 years ago.

They said that achieving national independence remains an uphill task, especially when the Jews, known for their lust for acquisition, are ruling not only the economy of the United States, the world's sole super power, but also its all-powerful mass media, the electronic media in particular.

However, they said that Palestinians would never lose hope because as Muslims they believe that justice is to triumph one day, as the intifada is bound to succeed.

They are also unaninmous in their opinion that the Muslims in general and Arabs in particular have been left behind by the Jews, the Christians and other non-Muslims in the field of education, even though Islam lays utmost emphasis on knowledge without which no nation or society can progress.

"Who doesn't want to be reunited with his roots?"asked Fateh Alauddin, a Palestinian civil engineer who works in Muscat.

"Judging by the ground situation, we should gain independence within five years. But we will have to remain on our toes. Constant struggle is the name of the game," he added.

A father of three, Alauddin said he had received his higher education certificate in engineering from American University of Beirut. He said that education should be the best option for Palestinians, but that goal should never distract them from the main target of going back home.

He underlined the growing need for countering the anti-Islamic propaganda intensifed by the Jewish-dominated Western press after September 11 in its own English language. "Let us have satellite channels like Al Jazeera, but in English. because we don't need to convince Arabs about our causes, like that of the Palestinian refugees' right to return to their homeland," he said.

Waheeb Salem said: "I am waiting to go back home like a fish that feels eager to go back to water when it is taken out. The day of return will be my real birthday," he said.

He urged Palestinian youths to acquire different skills, particularly journalistic skills, as it is the best way to lead an honourable life in such era of information technology.

"Only then we can drive home our messge to the western population being brainwashed by the anti-Islamic forces through a monster called television almost monopolised by the Jews. Only then we can convey to the whole world our right to return to our occupied homes," said Salem.

The 40-year-old senior executive said the intifada would continue till the goals are achieved and the world would find that the Palestinians, who remain one nation and one people, know not how to bow for pressure. "We shall achieve the right of self-determination with the last drop of our blood. No sacrifice to offer, and the right of return is a sacred one that will achieve dignity and honour for us," he stressed.

Sami Khashram said he was eager to go back to Occupied Jerusalem, "the paradise of the world, but only when it is liberated from the Israeli occupation." He said victory would be on the Palestinian side "because our c