A unique, stunning collection of images of Palestine in the late
19th and early 20th centuries and a testament to the vibrancy of
Palestinian society prior to occupation.
This
book tells the story, in both English and Arabic, of a land full of
people—people with families, hopes, dreams, and a deep connection
to their home—before Israel’s establishment in 1948, known to
Palestinians as the Nakba, or “catastrophe.” Denying Palestinian
existence has been a fundamental premise of Zionism, which has sought
not only to hide this existence but also to erase its memory. But
existence leaves traces, and the imprint of the Palestine that was
remains, even in the absence of those expelled from their lands. It
appears in the ruins of a village whose name no longer appears in the
maps, in the drawing of a lost landscape, in the lyrics of a song, or
in the photographs from a family album.
Co-edited
by Teresa Aranguren and Sandra Barrilaro and featuring a foreword by
Mohammed El-Kurd, the photographs in this book are traces of that
existence that have not been erased. They are testament not to
nostalgia, but to the power of resistance.