Samah Sabawi's memoir offers a personal and historical account of her family's life in Palestine, tracing their journey through Ottoman rule, British Mandate, and the 1948 Nakba. The book challenges the narrative of 'a land without a people' by highlighting the vibrant and diverse Palestinian society before and after the displacement.
If a single book could challenge the phrase “A land without a people for a people without a land” – once frequently invoked by Zionists and their supporters in the lead-up to the creation of the state of Israel – then Samah Sabawi’s memoir firmly places her father, and his father, and his father before him in Palestine, their family just one of many that lived in this supposedly uninhabited piece of land that is still being fought for today.
And yet, the book is not just a personal story – one that traces more than 100 years of her family’s life – but a historical one: charting the day-to-day lives of Palestinians who lived under the Ottoman Empire, during the British mandate, and through the 1948 Nakba and beyond it. We meet Sabawi’s dad Abdul Karim (who died in October this year) and his siblings, born to a disabled, highly intelligent and well-regarded father, and an illiterate, fierce and doting mother. We follow their humble, tight-knit family through the streets of Gaza as they play, dream, learn and work, making ends meet while building friendships across cultural, class and religious lines, a testament to the diversity of Palestinian society before the “Jewish gangs” terrorising its inhabitants upended it. Abdul Karim is a six-year-old when the Nakba, or catastrophe, occurs, his coming of age and his path to adulthood intertwined with stories of people massacred, ethnically cleansed from their villages, and displaced, living out their days cold and hungry in refugee tents as more of their ancestral lands are occupied. As the young family grows, and the aspirations of their people to return to the homes they’ve been expelled from becomes more difficult and dangerous, so does their passion to liberate their nation. Some, like Abdul Karim, resist in non-violent ways; others, like his brother Muti, take up arm
PALESTINE HISTORY MEMOIR NAKBA DISPLACEMENT
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
A moving insight into one Palestinian family’s generations of survivalAward-winning author, playwright and poet Samah Sabawi’s memoir follows her family from Palestine under British rule to Redland Bay in Queensland.
Read more »
Leading Palestinian Advocate Declares Two-State Solution DeadThe leading Palestinian advocate in Australia, Nasser Mashni, has declared the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict dead, stating that Jewish and Arab residents will eventually need to coexist on the land currently controlled by Israel. This follows a UN resolution that demanded Israel end its presence in the occupied Palestinian territories and evacuate all settlers from the West Bank and Gaza, which pleased Palestinian supporters and angered Israel.
Read more »
Antisemitism envoy criticised over 'dangerous' call to ban pro-Palestinian city protestsJillian Segal's comments have been described by one Palestinian advocate as 'a thinly veiled attempt' to 'silence critics of the Israeli government'.
Read more »
Protests to go on ‘until liberation’ say pro-Palestinian organisersMelbourne saw its 61st consecutive protest as the state government mulls changes to the law, and the chamber of commerce says the ongoing rallies are harming the city.
Read more »
‘The two-state solution is absolutely dead,’ leading Palestinian advocate saysThe head of the nation’s Palestinian lobby said the two-state solution was akin to partitioning apartheid South Africa into separate black and white nations.
Read more »
Palestinian Grandfather Killed After Going Viral for Grief Over Slain GranddaughterKhaled Nabhan, whose heartbreaking tribute to his granddaughter Reem went viral last year, was killed by Israeli fire in Gaza. Reem and her brother Tarek were killed in an airstrike in November 2023. Nabhan had spoken to CNN about the tragedy and his pain at refusing to let the children play outside before the attack. He was killed while helping injured people during another tank shelling.
Read more »