#PalestiniansSpeak: Ahlam Yassin
Can you give me an example of how the Palestinian occupation has impacted what you do now?
- Well I'll tell you a little story, and I'll tell you how that story may have very well changed the trajectory of my life. I was a university student, I was a part of the diplomat in residence program, and from that program I received a scholarship to live in DC for a summer and intern at an embassy. And I won't say the country's name but it's an Arab country, and I was so excited. You can only imagine, I was so excited. And my mom she was an immigrant Palestinian mom, she's like . I'm like mom, please I have to go. And then she finally gave me the yes, and I had everything in order and just, I was waiting for the day to go to DC. And before the summer trip I went down just to get acquainted with the embassy staff and just acquaint myself with the area, and so on. So in my conversation with the gentleman from the embassy, he asked me, what are your thoughts on Oslo? And I told him, well Oslo I mean we, and I gave him my thoughts which were not positive and decades later we can see that the outcome of Oslo were not positive. So we carried on with our conversation, I went back to my university, back to Philadelphia, this was in DC, I went back to Philly. And the next day I get a phone call from my professor, she's like you have to come to my office. I have to talk to you about something. Okay well that doesn't sound good. So I went into her office and she's like, I'm so sorry to tell you but they have revoked your internship. So they revoked my internship and I was devastated. I was devastated, because I really saw that this opportunity would have changed the trajectory of my life. So they revoked the internship. There was no ability for me to kind of maneuver and go somewhere else, whatever. So that was one very scarring kind of incident that very off the bat, in my young adulthood sent the message that if you say things that don't align politically with the status quo there will be very serious consequences. And so that is one kind of instance that shaped myself and what I thought I could do in life, I guess.
#PalestiniansSpeak: Enaam Salem
- What's one thing that you admire about your parents' generation?
- One thing I admire about my parents' generation is that they always went back. They never cut off Philistine. Philistine was always a part of them, they brought their culture with them and they made sure that that culture was ingrained in their children, that they raised their children in that culture. And that's one thing that as an adult now, I'm forever grateful for. As a child, I probably resented half of those things, but it's really important, I think, and that's one thing that I really admire that generation for is keeping up with that culture and making sure that they instill that culture within their children, within their households, and that they extend that on to their grandchildren, keeping those stories alive, letting us know who our relatives are, our ancestors, their stories, their childhood, their upbringing, keeping that alive, I think that's really important. It really taught us, it really kept a fire ignited within us that we belong to something bigger than who we are here in America.
#PalestiniansSpeak: Abed Awad
When I say the word home, what comes to mind?
New Jersey, Deir Dibwan Palestine. To me, home is Palestine. That's where my ancestral roots, my DNA was built in this village, Deir Dibwan, because both my parents are from the same village. But New Jersey is my home. I feel American as apple pie. My mannerisms, my music, my outlook, my view of the world. And I feel Palestinian and Arab as Zerto's data. It's a very interesting feeling when I think of home, because I long to my village when I am here and I go there. But I also long for my town in New Jersey, because I can't see myself living anywhere other than Deir Dibwan and New Jersey. I couldn't see myself living in any other state of this nation. So this is how deep rooted I feel about New Jersey and how deep rooted I feel about Palestine.
What is something that has being Palestinian taught you?
Resilience, perseverance, courage. You will find that Palestinians have a courage to air their opinions and to fight back, more so than many other groups or Arabs or Muslims. And because of them being under oppression, we have this sense that you have a right to express yourself and you're going to fight to the death for it. We're not afraid and you see that with the Palestinian movement. You see that even going on in Palestine today with the Palestinian authorities, authoritarian oppressive practices as recent in the past few weeks. There's an uproar in the Palestinian community from all political persuasions. So yes, it's resilience, it's courage, it's perseverance and it's fighting for everybody. As Palestinian student activist at the university of London, I was involved in the Pan-African nationalist movement, I was involved with the Irish groups, I was involved with other ... with Kashmir, any other groups that were out looking for fighting for justice. You would find Palestinians either in a leadership position or active members in those movements. We feel the collective nature of our struggle for freedom and Liberty worldwide.
#PalestiniansSpeak: Rima Qasim
- How has the occupation impacted your family?
- Well, the first thing is that my parents are expelled. Therefore, I am expelled, really. I can go for a visit as an American with a three month visa, but they decide when I have to leave. I have no real right to live as I please. Every time we travel there, we are extremely humiliated, especially my teenage daughters by the Israeli Forces at the, either at the airport or at the bridge when we cross from Aman. We are forced to wait 6 to 8 hours, for no reason whatsoever except that we are originally Palestinians. We were once expelled. One time we went, we were trying to cross the bridge and we were kicked out and we were told that we could not enter today, you have to come back tomorrow. Just as a punishment. They're trying to punish us for no reason, except that we're Palestinians and we're trying to come home. Plus, my kids did not have the privilege to live in their own country. We were expelled by Israel. So the occupation does not give me rights as a Palestinian to live there comfortably, as it does with the Jews who come from all over Europe.
- How has the occupation impacted your family?
- Well, the first thing is that my parents are expelled. Therefore, I am expelled, really. I can go for a visit as an American with a three month visa, but they decide when I have to leave. I have no real right to live as I please. Every time we travel there, we are extremely humiliated, especially my teenage daughters by the Israeli Forces at the, either at the airport or at the bridge when we cross from Aman. We are forced to wait 6 to 8 hours, for no reason whatsoever except that we are originally Palestinians. We were once expelled. One time we went, we were trying to cross the bridge and we were kicked out and we were told that we could not enter today, you have to come back tomorrow. Just as a punishment. They're trying to punish us for no reason, except that we're Palestinians and we're trying to come home. Plus, my kids did not have the privilege to live in their own country. We were expelled by Israel. So the occupation does not give me rights as a Palestinian to live there comfortably, as it does with the Jews who come from all over Europe.
Introducing #PalestiniansSpeak, a new video series in collaboration with PACC
Palestinian American Community Center,NJ. USA's mission is to strengthen and sustain ties to Palestinian heritage while empowering the well-being of the entire community. Just finished working on a video series with Palestinian American Community Center,NJ. USA that is launching next week. Follow along with us as we hear different members of our Palestinian community share their stories and and discuss what being Palestinian means to them. Stay tuned for more!