Palestinians work to keep Nakba memory alive
Few Palestinian institutions and individuals are working on preserving the memories and stories of refugees who lived through the Nakba in 1948, in the absence of an official national project.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — During an interview about her displacement from her hometown Lifta, west of Jerusalem, Khadija said, “I love this girl … I will give her the dress,” as she pointed to her granddaughter Iman who fetched a dress that Khadija has kept for 70 years, as if it were her most expensive belonging.
When Al-Monitor asked her why she chose to give the dress to Iman, she answered, “Because she knows how valuable it is and she can preserve it.”
Khadija, 76, said that her dress represents the hometown that she abandoned in 1948 after Israel's occupation of historic Palestine. She recounts dozens of stories about the village, its history and the residents' customs. Whenever she misses a detail, Iman reminds her of it.
Khadija is one of the 800,000 refugees who had to leave their villages and towns during the 1948 war, in what has become known as the Nakba, or catastrophe. They have been waiting to return home since then. The stories the displaced tell their children and grandchildren are the only consolation they have; they cannot but bequeath to them a memory that has burdened their souls and hearts for 67 years.
