Are you Palestinian? Yes I am”
By Rasha Barakat
– September 13/2024 Being Palestinian is Not something easy at all. Palestinians are divided into many parts, such as refugees, citizens in Western countries, and others inside the “so-called” 48 cities inside the Green Line in occupied Palestine, which has the name now of ‘Israel,” and others in the Palestinian territories in Jerusalem & West Bank. Yet Palestinian people are in this extensive diaspora, but they will never forget their Palestinian blood. When you ask any Palestinian all over the world about his roots, he will tell you one sentence: “I am Palestinian.” Palestinian refugees in some arab countries, such as Lebanon, have no rights. They are also divided into 2 parts, inside camps and/or outside camps, but whether they live inside or not, they can’t get their human rights. They can’t own a small house or a piece of it even if they were born in Lebanon and have no other country to live in! Also, they can’t work simply in their fields unless they are employed in a few positions with low salaries and job titles, and they can’t even get social security, health insurance, and so on. The UNRWA handled a few things concerning learning/education and health, but insufficient support exists. Palestinians in Syria have their own rights to work and ownership of houses, but they also face a kind of bias by all means. Palestinians couldn’t live safely with their dignity in many countries because of genocides such as Sabra & Chatila, Tal El Zaatar, and many others, in addition to the biased media with a lack of governmental control. Also, if any Palestinian refugee goes to any arab border, he will be treated as if he is an animal or as if he is a terrorist! You can listen to many stories that begin with the question: Are you Palestinian? Yes, I am. In addition, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon or Syria can’t be accepted to enter Jordan unless with few cases. So, Palestinian people are not only divided into political segments sometimes but also into many aspects. I think all of these issues were meant to let Palestinians die over time and forget about Palestine and their right to Return. The glory, after all, will arise, hopefully, and yes, despite all these pressures & negativity toward Palestinians, they still refuse to be separated, and they want to be united in the end. If you asked any of them and wherever they live: “Are you Palestinian? Yo.u will always get just one answer: yes, I am Palestinian.
A note from the Editor: We welcome Rasha Barakat, the writer and author of several books, to our English section’s team of writers.
