Twih's The Palestinian Exile Of 1948

The Palestinian exile of 1948 marks the beginning of an ongoing identity struggle of a population of displaced persons sans a homeland. The devastation brought about by the initial expulsion of the Palestinian people is compounded by near-constant armed warfare both within the territories and in refugee camps in nearby nations that house Palestinian refugees. These constant bombardments are a detriment to collective and individual Palestinian identity, which has in turn become defined to a large extent externally (and internally to some degree) by armed resistant to Zionist influence solely, leading to a deficit in traditional, more positive national identity. The diaspora Palestinian population additionally faces complex struggles with acceptance

It is not the city of Beirut specifically that holds the greater meaning for these individuals, but instead the concept of a temporary home in the face of exile. While these refugees hold ties to their native countries, they have come together under the umbrella of a foreign land and form a newly established union. Darwish finds comfort and asserts this idea of a cohesive refugee population that is established when people are expelled from their homelands and desperately seek acceptance in a new location. The narrator explains, “I don’t know Beirut, and I don’t know if I love or don’t love it. For the political refugee, there is a chair that can’t be changed or replaced” (92). Darwish interchangeably uses the pronoun “I” and the vague “the political refugee”, thus integrating himself with this larger population of refugees. This refugee population is ambivalent about Beirut itself, as they still maintain ties to their home countries and where they move is merely a temporary refuge. Despite this, the necessity of rooting oneself geographically after exile and the difficulties that accompany this process are principle concerns for all refugees alike, regardless of identity, which creates a shared struggle and story amongst this collective