The significance of the bridge crossing in Barghouti’s I Saw Ramallah to his idea of return is that returning to ones homeland after being exiled is often seen as the ultimate goal. However, as we come to realize here crossing the bridge does not end the feeling of displacement. For the problem continues. Returning to one’s homeland only amplifies that they are still considered “naziheen”, the displaced ones (Barghouti, 3). As Barghouti crosses a wooden bridge over the Jordan River into Ramallah, he realizes he is unable to recognize the city of his youth. Although finally being able to return home he is faced with reality that he has become a “displaced stranger” to his homeland (Barghouti, 3).
The last thing that Barghouti remembers of this bridge is that he crossed it 30 years ago from Ramallah to Amman; therefore, the bridge for him symbolizes being put into exile. As he recalls being forced into exile, he realizes how much it affected him to be away from his homeland. While on the other side of the bridge, Barghouti was awarded a BA from the Department of English Language and Literature. But he “failed to find a wall to hang [his] certificate” (Barghouti, 3). That was the moment when Barghouti realize he did not have a home. He reminiscence on how he was notified of the news, from the voices of the Arabs radio station, that Ramallah was “no longer [his] and that [he] would not return to it” (Barghouti, 2). Just like that the citizens of Ramallah were informed that not only did they lose their land but also their homeland and had no authority over it. In spite of this, people outside of the homeland tried every possible way to get a reunion permit. Whether it was the legal way or smuggling themselves back in because the fee...
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...ble, the reality is that many changes were forced upon Palestinians in order to make it seem as though they are at peace. Barghouti simply calls it “the Bridge” since he see it as a simple structure that allows him to cross over from the Jordanian land to the Palestinian land.
The significance of the bridge crossing in Barghouti’s I Saw Ramallah is that even though Palestinians are physically returning to their homeland they are not there, mentally or emotionally since they no longer feel connected to Palestine. Thus, the idea of return is superficial. Crossing the bridge does not end the feeling of displacement because even in one’s homeland they are still considered the displaced ones. As Borghouti crosses a wooden bridge over the Jordan River into Ramallah, he realizes he remains displaced, but in homeland he is a “displaced stranger” (Barghouti, 3).
The French occupation is a confrontation between exported modernity and an old regime: the French revolutionaries and their dominance over the Ottoman social order that is markedly different in contrast; and, al-Jabarti reports on how it transfers cross-culturally. Levels of contestation, open and/or secretive acceptances give way to losses and gains driven by high emotion – even for this writer. He “describes very carefully every step in the negotiation of the organization of society, from administration to inheritance, from property to charity or from justice to deliberation.”
No one knows what will happen in his or her life whether it is a trivial family dispute or a civil war. Ishmael Beah and Mariatu Kamara are both child victims of war with extremely different life stories. Both of them are authors who have written about their first-hand experience of the truth of the war in order to voice out to the world to be aware of what is happening. Beah wrote A Long Way Gone while Kamara wrote The Bite of the Mango. However, their autobiographies give different information to their readers because of different points of view. Since the overall story of Ishmael Beah includes many psychological and physical aspects of war, his book is more influential and informative to the world than Kamara’s book.
This poem captures the immigrant experience between the two worlds, leaving the homeland and towards the new world. The poet has deliberately structured the poem in five sections each with a number of stanzas to divide the different stages of the physical voyage. Section one describes the refugees, two briefly deals with their reason for the exodus, three emphasises their former oppression, fourth section is about the healing effect of the voyage and the concluding section deals with the awakening of hope. This restructuring allows the poet to focus on the emotional and physical impact of the journey.
...ventures on a dangerous journey to mollify some of the regret Amir has inside of him. Thusly he finally gains his courage and stands up for what is just. After thirty-eight years of disappointment and regret, he finally made his father proud.
This marked the beginning of the Palestine armed conflict, one of its kinds to be witnessed in centuries since the fall of the Ottoman Empire and World War 1. Characterized by a chronology of endless confrontations, this conflict has since affected not only the Middle East relations, but also the gl...
Given current conditions, a fully independent Palestinian State would threaten peace in the region, despite the fact that the Palestinians were the original inhabitants within recent history, and therefore theoretically have the right to the Palestinian area. This is not, however, an excuse to resume Israel’s current treatment of Palestinians. At minimum, Palestinians deserve full access to non-settlement areas of the west bank regardless of Israel’s desire to control and restrict access to roads connecting settlements, reasonably open access to East and/or West Jerusalem, and the same rights as an Israeli citizen within the legal system. To continue forcing poor conditions on Palestinians will only amplify resistance, and consequently, violent
In an article published by the Palestine-Israel Journal, it spoke about a survey done of Palestinian living conditions in parts of their homeland, including West Bank and Gaza Strip. The findings of the survey provided insight of the Palestinians constant war against unbelievers. The article stated, “In examining social change in Palestinian society, it was found that a high level of social integration exists together with a low level of social advancement. And the economic disadvantages of prolonged occupation with restrictions on movement and unexpected curfews and closures have created an environment of uncertainty and an inability to plan ahead of time for individual, family and group
During the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 an Arab refugee crisis began, and there is still not a clear answer of what caused it. As inhabitants of Israel Arabs were greatly affected by the establishment of a Jewish State, because their home was governed by others. Nonetheless, the Palestinian Arabs contributed in the making of the refugee crisis. The Arabs were given the choice of becoming equal citizens of Israel and refused. The United Nations came up with Partition Plan for Palestine, but it was rejected. Therefore, instead of having their own country the Arabs fled to neighboring Arab countries to avoid the crossfire of impending war. Arabs were thrown out of their homes by the Haganah (pre-state army), and placed
Going through this, seeing the way other Syrians treated me and how they tortured me without any pity, looking at their faces which seemed to be as cold as ice, made me feel as if I was a stranger in my own country. As I stayed longer in captivity, the feeling of being a stranger grew inside me. I was being slowly detached from the place I’m in, from my country. And by time it wasn’t only the kidnappers that thought of me as a stranger, but I myself recognized that I was too. Everything seemed odd: the walls, the land, even the sound of language the people spoke was eccentric to me. Reading Ahmed Mohsen’s article all of those feelings directly arose to me. For Ahmed downtown Beirut seemed a strange
The graphic novel Palestine written by Joe Sacco is a trustworthy description of different stories in the heart of the century-long conflict between Arabs and Israeli. Sacco produced the graphic novel after spending two months with the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories in late 1991 and early 1992. Things certainly have changed since thenThe story is all about what happened in that part of the Middle East at the beginning of the 1990s. In this respect, a critical viewpoint should be applied in order to discuss the main topics in detail. Thus, Palestine is actually a guide for a Westerner willing to know what occurs in the Middle East each time the conflict between Israeli and Palestinians takes place.Excellent contemporary graphic novel. The characters convincingly portrayed. Sacco has a journalist eye and a storyteller’s heart.
Since 1967, numerous illegal Israeli settlements have been built on Palestinian land and the occupied territory, “housing more then 400,000 Jewish settlers.” Even since 1967, there has been a lot of divergence, unrest, bereavement, war and obliteration on both sides. There was a war in 1973 and two intifadas Palestinian uprising one that began in 1987 and one that began in 2000 that brings us into the 21st century. There have been many attempts in resolving conflicts however; the conflict is a matter of whether the Palestinians should be permitted to form their own independent country and government in an area that was once theirs yet now occupied and currently the nation of Israel. The Arab- Israeli conflict is historically a fuse that ignites regional battle due to the occupation of Palestine.
“Palestinians do not control their own fate but instead live under the power of other states” (82, Yambert). The one state that directly controls the fate of Palestinians in the occupied territories is Israel and for the Palestinians who do not reside in Israel, other governments control them. The history of Palestine and how Israel came into existence is essential to understand in order to break down the present day conflict. The most dominant and important player in the Palestinian – Israeli conflict has been the United States of America, which has completely shaped the predicament in order to fulfill its interests. Before delving into the role of the United States, it is essential to go back in time and familiarize with the history of Palestine and Israel.
Jordan’s demographic balance is made up of ethnic Jordanians, non-Arab immigrants who came before Jordan’s independence (i.e Circassians, Chechens, and Armenians), several waves of Palestinians, Lebanese, Iraqis, African refugees from primarily Sudan and Somalia and recently refugees from Syria. The integration of these ethnic groups generally depend on the time of their arrival with those arriving the earliest having integrated the most and therefore are the least vulnerable. The further integration of certain refugee groups namely Palestinians remain hampered by political considerations namely the Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that would foresee the establishment of a new Palestinian state. Despite Palestinians being short of full political citizens, the general situation of Palestinians is considerably better off than those from la...
Edward Said “States” refutes the view Western journalists, writers, and scholars have created in order to represent Eastern cultures as mysterious, dangerous, unchanging, and inferior. According to Said, who was born in Jerusalem at that time Palestine, the way westerners represent eastern people impacts the way they interact with the global community. All of this adds to, Palestinians having to endure unfair challenges such as eviction, misrepresentation, and marginalization that have forced them to spread allover the world. By narrating the story of his country Palestine, and his fellow countrymen from their own perspective Said is able to humanize Palestinians to the reader. “States” makes the reader feel the importance of having a homeland, and how detrimental having a place to call home is when trying to maintain one’s culture. Which highlights the major trait of the Palestinian culture: survival. Throughout “States”, Said presents the self-preservation struggles Palestinians are doomed to face due to eviction, and marginalization. “Just as we once were taken from one habitat to a new one we can be moved again” (Said 543).
The Sirens of Baghdad tells the story of a young man, a university student like us, who has been subjected