Four Decades of Heroes in Palestine (James Zogby)

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"We are forty years into this occupation, and the systematic destruction of Palestine, its people and their culture continues. I am not Palestinian, but throughout my adult life their story has been important to me.

From my first visit to the Palestinian camps in Lebanon in 1971, which led to my doctoral dissertation "Arabs in the Promised Land," a study of the emergence of Palestinian national consciousness, and later motivated me to found the Palestine Human Rights Campaign, I have been haunted by the plight of this captive and displaced nation.

Along the way, I have met some extraordinary people, whose commitment to justice and perseverance in the face of adversity, have inspired and challenged me.

First and foremost among them were the people of Ein al-Hilweh, the refugee camp I visited in 1971. Despite a quarter century in exile and the harsh conditions of the camp, they had, with determined creativity, reconstructed a facsimile of Palestinian life in their camp. They spoke with reverence of their homes, villages and way of life they had lost, of their remembrances of forced exodus in 1948, and of their hopes for the future.

I recall most vividly the grandmother of my host in the camp. Umm Abed was a strong woman who possessed steel grey eyes and a face hardened by history and the elements. The day I left, she looked hard at me and said, "Now you've heard our stories, what will you do?" In some ways, through my work during the past thirty-six years, I have been answering her question."

more

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.