writing_womans_lives_symposium_paper_book_v2

That night, my father picked up his weapon and stood by the door to guard us...and
said ‘Yaba forgive me, if the Jews find us, I am going to shoot you before they lay a hand
on you.’ (Siham)
The next day, Siham’s family jumped onto a truck leaving Yafa with no suitcases, clothes or food.
Her mother locked the house, and the only two things she took with her were the house key and a
carpet to place underneath them in the truck. Siham’s memory of this day is so vivid that she
remembers the exact date, 28 th April 1948. Siham’s family went to Nablus and then on to Syria. Her
description of their arrival to Syria highlights the impact it had on her dignity.
We were tired and our clothes were drenched in dirt. I was so hurt and broken, how
will these people see us? My father was right when he said: we were better off dying on
our land. (Siham)
Overall, the narratives of Siham and Najat distinctly highlight the impact of the Nakba on the
three elements of their human security. When it comes to their survival, Najat experienced hunger
for the first time, while Siham did not know whether or not she would make it alive during their
escape by sea. As for their livelihood, both Najat and Siham had to flee Yafa with no clothes or
belongings and found themselves in new and different environments. Najat received a different
quality of education in school. Siham moved into strangers’ apartment after living in a villa on the
beach. As for their dignity, they both highlighted specific issues relating to women; Najat spoke of
the insecurity she felt from the thought of being seen naked in the shower, while Siham spoke of her
father’s reaction to the thought of his girls being physically harassed. Additionally, Siham’s narrative
portrays her feelings of the idea of being the “other” in Syria and her consciousness of how the
Syrians would see them in their new and less fortunate state. An overarching element during this
period was the fear of the unknown. In each and every journey or location, both women did not
know what will happen to them and where they will end up, exacerbating the already existing impact
that the Nakba had on their survival, livelihood and dignity.
Displacement: A difficult transition
After staying in Nablus for a year, Najat’s family moved to Amman. The 1950s was a difficult time
for them, especially her father, who was financially supporting his two brothers. This took a toll on
his health; he suffered from internal bleeding but later received appropriate care.
Imagine, he spent all his savings on the orange orchard … He left it all behind, all of it.
And this made him very sad. What was he to do? He had to put food on the table for three
families. (Najat)
At the age of 18, in 1958, Najat decided to move to Kuwait to work as a teacher. She explained
that Palestinians in exile had limited opportunities and thereby teaching in Kuwait was a good
prospect for young women.
Female teachers in Kuwait were known to have a good reputation. They had dorms
and there was strong surveillance. A girl couldn’t leave the country without her father’s
consent (Najat).
Shortly after moving to Kuwait Najat met a young Palestinian man. They got married and gave
birth to three children. Her narrative portrays that she lived a stable and contented life there. After
spending seventeen years in Kuwait, they moved to Amman. She said that she was happy to move
back and be close to her family again, but she also missed the life she left behind in Kuwait.
In 1986, Najat’s mother got a brain stroke and became partially paralyzed. She explains that it was
difficult for her and her siblings to see their healthy and lively mother ill and bed‐ridden for two
years, before she passed away at the age of 67.
Upon graduating from school, Siham also moved to Kuwait to work as a teacher but felt unsafe as
a single young lady. As a solution to this, she got married and moved back to Syria. Siham recalls that
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