Overview
This book is an eye-witness account of what it is like to live in Palestine as a refugee in your own homeland. Born in Jerusalem, Muna Hamzeh is a journalist who has been writing about Palestinian affairs since 1985. She first worked as a journalist in Washington DC, but moved back to Palestine in 1989 to cover the first Palestine Intifada - the war of stones. She then settled in Dheisheh, near Bethlehem, - one of 59 Palestinian refugee camps that are considered the oldest refugee camps in the world. Immediately accessible and fully up-to-date, the first part of the book consists of a diary which Hamzeh wrote between October 4th and December 4th 2000, telling the story of the second Intifada. Facing the tanks and armed guards of one of the best equipped armies in the world, the Palestinians have nothing. They fight back with stones. The anguish and terror that Muna and her friends face on a daily basis is tangible. Who will be the next to die? Whose house will be the next to burn down? This deeply moving personal account brings to life the harsh realities of the Palestinian struggle. The second part of the book provides the background to these current events. It describes what life has been like for Dheisheh's refugees since 1990, and explains why the second Intifada was a natural development of the Oslo peace accord. ""Refugees in Our Own Land: Chronicles from a Palestinian Refugee Camp in Bethlehem"" is a rare insider's look into the heart and minds of Palestinian refugees. It is a tribute to the bravery of the Palestinian people, and a wake-up call to the world that has ignored so much of their struggle and their suffering.
Full Product Details
Author: Muna Hamzeh
Publisher: Pluto Press
Imprint: Pluto Press
Dimensions:
Width: 14.00cm
, Height: 1.70cm
, Length: 21.60cm
Weight: 0.371kg
ISBN: 9780745316529
ISBN 10: 0745316522
Pages: 184
Publication Date: 20 August 2001
Audience:
General/trade
,
Professional and scholarly
,
General
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
'With great warmth, anger, admiration and depression she pens the life of a camp through history and politics' -- Red Pepper 'This riveting first-hand account of life in the Palestinian refugee camps should be required reading for anyone interested in a resolution of the wrenching conflict between Palestine and Israel' -- Elizabeth Fernea, University of Texas at Austin 'Lays bare the whole spectrum of human emotion that she, her neighbours and friends undergo as the relentless series of events unfolds. Visceral fear of Israeli shelling and terror of settler attacks is interlaced with deep pain at the loss of yet another young life. Exhaustion, hopelessness, and bitterness are the constants' -- Journal of Palestine Studies 'A unique insight into women's everyday life during the Al Aqsa Intifada - anger, sorrow, frustration fly off every page. This book is a slice of living history which will now never be forgotten' -- Victoria Brittain
'A unique insight into women's everyday life during the Al Aqsa Intifada - anger, sorrow, frustration fly off every page. This book is a slice of living history which will now never be forgotten' -- Victoria Brittain 'Lays bare the whole spectrum of human emotion that she, her neighbours and friends undergo as the relentless series of events unfolds. Visceral fear of Israeli shelling and terror of settler attacks is interlaced with deep pain at the loss of yet another young life. Exhaustion, hopelessness, and bitterness are the constants' -- Journal of Palestine Studies 'This riveting first-hand account of life in the Palestinian refugee camps should be required reading for anyone interested in a resolution of the wrenching conflict between Palestine and Israel' -- Elizabeth Fernea, University of Texas at Austin 'With great warmth, anger, admiration and depression she pens the life of a camp through history and politics' -- Red Pepper
'Always compelling, [Hamzeh's writing] movingly conveys these tragedies, and how, in a tight-knit society on a small patch of land, they are all inter-connected.' The Financial Times 'Muna Hamzeh has given us a unique insight into women's everyday life during the Al Aqsa Intifada - anger, sorrow, frustration fly off every page this book is a slice of living history which will now never be forgotten.' Victoria Brittain
Author Information
Muna Hamzeh is a Palestinian-American journalist whose work on the Palestinian question has appeared in The Economist, Ha'aretz, The Christian Science Monitor, Jerusalem Report, and Middle East International, among others. Hamzeh was born in Jerusalem to a Muslim father and a Christian mother, both of whom were half Palestinian, half Lebanese. Her experience of life in a Palestinian refugee camp is based on firsthand knowledge--she lived in the Dheisheh camp in Bethlehem for 10 years after first travelling there to report on the Palestinian Intifada of 1990. Hamzeh is an accomplished speaker and has been interviewed by the media throughout the world, including the Channel 4 documentary Talking to the Enemy.
