The Human Side of the Palestinian Experience

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is often viewed through the lens of politics, wars, land, and leaders, but the people involved are often overlooked.
The media often presents a narrow view of Palestinians, which does not represent the diversity of their experiences.
The goal is to humanize the Palestinians by sharing their stories and experiences.

It is difficult to completely separate politics from the people because the politics and laws control their everyday lives.
The speaker is half Palestinian but presents the information from an American perspective.
The aim is to share a glimpse into the lives of Palestinians and introduce a variety of faces, stories, and experiences to broaden the way we view them.

The speaker met a girl named Aya from Tel Aviv, Israel, at summer camp.
Aya described Tel Aviv as a place with freedom, a beach, and safety.
Aya's story contrasted with the speaker's knowledge of the situation in Palestine, where curfews can last for days, weeks, or months.
Aya struggled to understand that the speaker could be half Palestinian, as her school presented a negative view of Palestine.
This experience highlighted how narrow the view of Palestinians can be.

Saheb, a 14-year-old boy from Ceylon, East Jerusalem, was arrested by Israeli officers in the middle of the night.
He was taken to a detention center, beaten, and abused.
Saheb was forced to sign a document in Hebrew stating that he had not been physically abused, even though he did not understand the language.
During his ten-day interrogation, he was allegedly beaten and threatened.
He was then moved to a prison cell, where guards prevented him from sleeping.
After thirty days, he was sentenced to house arrest, preventing him from attending school.
According to Defense for Children International Palestine, most Palestinian children detained are charged with throwing stones, and many experience physical violence during arrest, transfer, or interrogation.
In 2014, 1945 children were detained, including 92 children aged 12 or younger.

Fadi Ghandour, a friend of the speaker's mother, started a nonprofit called Ruwad to help Palestinian refugees.
A Palestinian refugee is defined as a person who lost both home and livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.
Ruwad aims to encourage education, child development, youth organizing, and community building.
Mr. Ghandour funds scholarships for students who successfully graduate from high school to attend a local university.
Ruwad has locations in Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, and Jordan.

The speaker volunteered at the Ruwad located in the Muhammad Amin camp in Jordan.
The refugee camp has a population of about 54,000 people.
The speaker worked in two of Ruwad's programs: Beit Silsal and the Children's Library.
Beit Silsal empowers severely mentally and physically disabled members of the community through art.
The speaker helped teach basic sculpture, painting, and drawing.
In the children's library, the kids loved the companionship and attention.
They learned reading, writing, and played games.
Graduates of the program often return to teach the children, which benefits both the individual and the community.

The speaker was disturbed by the continuing generations of Palestinian refugees living in refugee camps.
The speaker questioned why this situation has persisted for so long and whether there will ever be a way to fix it.

Masid and Ravan, two women from the Gaza Strip, graduated from an engineering university.
They engineered a way to make bricks out of ash from coal and wood, rather than traditional sand and stone bricks, due to the difficulty in accessing construction materials in Gaza because of the blockade.
The bricks are flameproof, lighter in weight, and cheaper than traditional bricks.
Their invention received approval from laboratories in Japan.
The bricks were used in the construction of a building and are now in high demand.
This story demonstrates how someone can take the rubble around them and turn it into something that can rebuild what they have lost.
Masid and Ravan have helped their community and set an example for future innovators.

The speaker's great grandfather spoke five languages fluently.
The speaker's great grandmother preserved the Palestinian tradition.
The speaker's grandfather attended law school in England, and the speaker's great uncle went to university in America.
The speaker's mother's aunts all played piano in their Jerusalem home.
The speaker's grandparents left Jerusalem due to the occupation and lived in Kuwait and North Africa.
The speaker's mother remembers their daily lives were consumed with listening to the BBC radio for any hope of returning home.
The speaker's mother eventually came to America for university.
She worked part-time waitressing at Cafe Algiers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and would challenge people to guess where she was from.
When she revealed she was Palestinian, people would lose interest in continuing the conversation.
The speaker's mother still faces questions about her Palestinian identity due to her Western demeanor.
She feels she is in an emotional diaspora and that nowhere is truly home.
She feels she has to add another element to her Palestinianism to have someone's ear or respect.

The goal is to broaden the perspective of Palestinians beyond the limited images presented in the media.
The media often presents Palestinians as either violent or victimized.
What is missing is the third side: Palestinians living normal lives all over the world.
The speaker saw this third side growing up through friends and family and was immersed in the culture.

The speaker shared research with a friend who had a different perspective on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
They shared experiences, articles, and YouTube videos.
By the end of their five-hour call, they began to understand each other, regardless of whether they agreed.
Humans are often surrounded by their similarities and disengage or get defensive when their differences arise.
From Aya, the speaker learned about a different perspective.
From Saheb, the speaker learned about a reoccurring problem.
From Fadi Ghandour, the speaker learned that it's possible to make a difference on a large scale.
From volunteering at Ruwad, the speaker learned how to make a difference on even a small scale.
From Aseed's and Ravan's story, the speaker learned that resilience in the face of adversity is the first step to solving any problem.
From the speaker's own family's story, the speaker learned about how diverse the Palestinian experience is.
From FaceTiming with friends, the speaker learned that we all have the power to enlighten someone or be enlightened ourselves.

The first step to rekindling humanity is understanding, with which compassion and empathy will follow.
Making a difference can begin by reading an article or watching a video.
It can begin by chatting to the person next to you.
It must begin by stepping out of our comfort zones and into somebody else's shoes.
In addition to knowing the facts, we need to hear the stories, see the images, and feel the emotions to truly comprehend the impact or importance of any world event.
Before we can construct solutions to any of our problems in this world, we need to see eye to eye.
We all have the power to share, to listen, to engage, and to question.
It is in our hands, and more importantly, with our responsibility, that we use these powers to change the way we think.