Written
by the refugees themselves, this highly original anthology of
Palestinians forced to live outside their homeland brings together
stories of what it means to be exiled, reflections on the events that
led to being displaced, and the raw experience of daily life in a
camp.
The 11 lives given voice here are unique, each an expression of
the myriad displacements that war and occupation have forced upon
Palestinians since the Nakba of 1948. At the same time, they form a
collective testament of a people driven from their homes and land by
colonial occupation. Each story is singular; and each tells the story
of all Palestinians.
As Edward Said argued in 1984, the object of Israel's colonial
warfare is not only material—seeking to minimise Palestinian
existence as such—but is also a narrative project that aims to
obliterate Palestinian history "as possessed of a coherent
narrative direction pointed towards self-determination."
In these pages, Palestinian refugees narrate their own histories.
The product of a creative-writing workshop organized by the Institute
for Palestine Studies in Lebanon, 11 Lives tells of children's
adventures in the alleyways of refugee camps, of teenage martyrs and
ghosts next-door, of an UNRWA teacher's dismay at the shallowness of
her colleagues, and of the love, labour, and land that form the
threads of a red keffiyeh.
What unites these 11 stories is "the inadmissible existence
of the Palestinian people" highlighted by Said. Their words
persist, as one contributor writes, "between the Nakba and the
Naksa, throughout defeats and massacres, love affairs and
revolutions." The stories of Palestinians in exile are also
open-ended, and will continue to reverberate across borders until
Palestine is free.
With contributions by: Nadia Fahed, Intisar Hajaj, Yafa Talal
El-Masri, Youssef Naanaa, Ruba Rahme, Hanin Mohammad Rashid, Mira
Sidawi, Wedad Taha, Salem Yassin, Taha Younis, Mahmoud Mohammad
Zeidan
Co-published with the Institute of Palestine Studies.